


Harry Potter and the Interpretations of Fate

by HPFandom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe, Other, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-04-30
Updated: 2008-02-23
Packaged: 2018-10-01 01:10:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 55,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10177175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPFandom_archivist/pseuds/HPFandom_archivist
Summary: "This is all wrong,only one soul was to taken not both." "Everything is out of balance, good and evil are not factors, you can go back." "You have the choice to start again."Follow Harry as, after the devistation left at the end of the war, the fates decide to throw the dice again, sending Harry's spirit back to his eleven year old self in order to reshuffle the deck of fate.But what other twists are in store?





	1. To merely survive; A second chance

**Author's Note:**

> Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [HP Fandom](http://fanlore.org/wiki/HP_Fandom_\(archive\)), which was closed for health and financial reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [HP Fandom collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/hpfandom/profile).

AN/ Hello, just a few notes to begin here. When Harry is sent back, the conversations with his younger self are set as bold for the older spirit and italics for the younger. (Doesn't come into play until ch 2, but you will see what I mean.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy, let me know what you think.

Chapter 1:

Part 1: To Merely Survive

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord shall mark him as equal, but he shall have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hands of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…”

“Neither can live while the other survives. Who would have thought that it could be taken another way.” Weary green eyes surveyed the blasted out ruins of what had once been a magnificent castle. The years hadn’t taken away any of the impact from the massacre that had taken place on this ground, instead the chill fog that seemed to perpetually shroud the ruin locked the tumbled, blackened stones in a sort of timeless suspension. The only witnesses being the pale ghosts of the fallen and the tired, ruin of a man whom had once called this place home.  
Snorting numbly, the robed figure raised his face to the light drizzle and sighed as the chill rain washed straggled black hair back from a forehead long marred by stress and grief to reveal an odd, lightning shaped scar. A scar that, over the years, had come to represent the bane of the bearer’s existence.  
“Well old man, it’s finally over.” The voice that rasped out from beneath the hood was a far cry from the strong, young, optimistic one that had once graced these halls; it was even a pale imitation of the more mature, stern voice that had commanded others during the war. This voice sounded tired, defeated.  
“Who would have thought that things could go so wrong. Come on old man, you have to be here still.”  
Picking through the debris, the tall, ragged figure seemed to be searching for something. Eventually he uncovered a tattered, filthy painting that had somehow survived the fires that had taken much of the building. Lifting the frame carefully from the rubble the man strode back to one of the more intact portions of the castle. The ruined ceiling of what had once been a great hall still stood; the old spells had protected much of it before giving out. All that remained of the once magnificent structure was a blackened dome that sported a huge crack from one end to the other, through which the rain fell in thin streams to patter on the cracked paving stones below.   
Stalking across the wet ground, the lone living being in what had once been a place full of life made his way over to the corner of the hall that was still partially intact. There he braced the painting against a wall and lowered his aching bones into a patched together chair.  
Haunted eyes surveyed the blank painting and a faint, bitter smile twisted the thin lips that hadn’t smiled in years. “So, you strong enough to come out, old friend, or am I going to sit here talking to your background?”  
The faint magic that still remained in the painting flickered slightly and the figure of a distinguished old man stepped into view and took a seat. His blue eyes were tired and strain showed on the ancient features. Looking out at the man gazing at him, the portrait blinked slightly then a look of shock came over his face.   
“Hello, Professor.” Tears unexpectedly came to the green eyes and ran down a face long gone haggard with too much grief.  
“My goodness, my boy. You look dreadful.” The painting whispered, the old face grave with concern.  
The other laughed hollowly, “I’m really not surprised Professor.” There wasn’t any humour in the reply, just weary acknowledgement.  
The old professor’s face became serious, “I take it we won then.” He stated.  
The other snorted, “I wouldn’t say won exactly, but yes, it is over. Every one is gone. The really ironic thing is that he is still alive as well. We are just both defeated. The wizarding world no longer exists.” ‘Neither can live while the other survives.’  
“What has happened, my boy?” the portrait asked softly.   
The other sighed hollowly and brushed a hand over the tattered black robes, staring at the blood that the rain had washed loose that streaked his fingers. “You know that line in the old prophecy, the one that states that neither one of us could live while the other survives?” the picture of the old man nodded, “Well I think that line can be taken literally.” The small smile that graced his lips was bitter, “It says that neither of us can live, it doesn’t say anything about what would come about of both of us merely surviving. Voldemort is reduced to level even less then he was when he lost his body the first time round. As for me, I am not far off being in the same condition.” He pulled open his robes to display gaunt ribs bound in ragged, blood stained bandages, “Right now I couldn’t light a candle unless I wanted to use my own life force to do it.” he whispered.  
The old man in the painting observed him quietly for a moment, “So what do you intend to do now?” he asked finally.  
Raising a ragged eyebrow the man drew out a weathered, scarred wand, “My dear Headmaster, I thought that would be obvious.” A faintly triumphant gleam came to the defeated green eyes, “I intend to take both of us out in one last strike. I have endured countless tortures through this curse scar over the years; I thought perhaps it was time to return the favour.”  
Infinite sadness came to the eyes of the old headmaster, “Please, there has to be something else that can be done.”  
The other smiled bitterly and tears slid unheeded down his cheeks, “There is nothing left, Professor. Every person I called family, every one I called friend is gone. All the people I have ever met, every place I have ever called home. There is nothing left anymore. No where to go. I’m sorry Professor, I failed.”  
Raising his wand in a shaking hand, he pointed it at the scar over his right eyebrow, “At least this way, I take him with me.” He whispered.  
The tumbled ruins of the isolated castle that had once housed a school that was largely unknown by much of the world lit up with a flash of bright green light and a hoarse cry of ‘Avada Kedavra’ echoed, strangely unmuffled by the drizzle.  
A grieving portrait of a man long dead gazed down at the body of the wizard who had been one of his most prized pupils; across the country, in a dark, hidden cave, there was a shriek as another life came to an end and overhead the voices of the fates screamed in protest.

Part 2: A Second Chance

“Harry. Harry Potter.” The soft voice that penetrated the darkness brought with it light and warmth and Harry opened his eyes slowly, blinking in confusion as his memories jumbled, trying to place where he was. All around him was light and the voice seemed to whisper out of the air, “Welcome Harry.” Sighing, Harry pushed himself up into a sitting position and looked down at himself. At the sight of his tattered, blood stained robes the memories came rushing back into focus and he shuddered in pain, “Where am I?” he whispered.  
The light around him condensed slightly and a rather shapeless form knelt down by his side and ran a hand through his hair. “You are at the transition point between life and death. You are being given a choice.”  
Harry blinked at the figure, his thoughts fuzzy, “A choice?” he asked in confusion.  
The figure nodded, “Yes. You are being given a second chance, if you should wish it.”  
Realisation came to him and Harry chuckled dryly, feeling tears gather, “In other words I failed.” He laughed.  
The light around him shimmered and voices came to him, sounding like an out of time chorus, “Things were not supposed to end as they did. The interpretations were taken the wrong way.”  
“You have a chance to set things right. Only one was supposed to be taken. Not both.”  
“Everything is wrong. The balance has been thrown into disarray.”  
Blinking, Harry looked around him, his mind starting to function once again. “Wait on, what are you talking about?”  
One of the voices overran the others, “This was a test, a trial for the human race. The balance of forces had been thrown off course and the prophecy was meant to bring things back into focus.”  
Frowning in thought, Harry shook his head, this wasn’t making any sense. “If the prophecy was meant to bring about balance, then why doesn’t it state which of us needs to win? I mean, why go through all the shit when it was preordained which of us needed to die to restore balance.”  
The presence round him rippled almost in frustration, “You do not understand.”   
“There is not one preordained victor.”  
“The opposing forces are not directly linked to only one event.”  
“Many choices make up the balance.”  
“But only one soul was to be taken.”  
“One of the chosen was to remain to restore balance.”  
“Good and Evil are not factors.”  
Harry sighed as his head began to pound, ‘Joy, even after I am dead, no one can give me a straight answer.’ “Look, you’re telling me that you are giving me the chance to go back and set things right?” he stated more then asked. The light around him shimmered an affirmative, “And you are telling me that there is only to be one soul taken, mine or Voldemorts’'.” Again, the shimmer, “So how am I supposed to make sure I get it right this time?”  
“You spirit will be merged with that of your younger self and you shall retain all of your memories.”  
“This way you have the chance of changing the outcome.”  
Harry rubbed at his eyebrow and sighed, “All right, say I do this. What happens to the soul of my younger self? You said one soul as payment, will it be his?”  
There came a soft chuckling, “No, as you are one and the same spirit. Two ages of the same soul within one form. As your younger self ages, your older spirit will become one with him. Once his spirit reaches the age it is now, you will then be whole. Two souls become one.”  
“What are the conditions of my return?” he asked grimly. He had been warned of the dangers of messing with time but he had an odd feeling that the rules didn’t apply to the fates.  
“No conditions.”  
“The choices you make are your own.”  
“Just choosing to return changes the outcome.”  
“Everything that occurred will not have happened; the dice will be thrown again.”  
Harry thought over all of the loved ones he had lost during the past twenty five years. Sirius and Dumbledore, before the war even began, Ron and Hermione, Neville, Luna, Professor McGonagall. The sacrifices of those who gave everything to the cause, Lupin, Malfoy who had come over to their side and been slaughtered by his own father, Snape, who gave up everything, who lived with everyone’s hatred and mistrust for years then branding himself a traitor on Dumbledore’s orders all for the sake of the fight. Even Aunt Petunia in the end, for all her nastiness, for all she put him through growing up, as soon as everything went to hell; she had backed him to her death.   
Looking up at the fates, Harry steeled his expression, “What do I have to do?”   
There was a bright flash of light and Harry felt everything go black once more, as everything faded the voices came to him softly, “And so a new game begins.”


	2. Reserection of the Soul; And so it begins

  
Author's notes: Ch 2: Harry's Soul reawakens and he comes face to face, literally, with his past.  


* * *

Chapter 2: 

Part 1: Resurrection of the Soul

Harry awoke with a start, shivering violently as he shook off the last of his nightmare. It was a familiar one, just a vague sense of great fear, a flash a green light and the echoing sound of sinister laughter.   
Wiping the sweat from his brow with a trembling hand he reached out to switch on the light, illuminating the small cubby he occupied beneath the stairs of his aunt and uncles house. He could blurrily make out the hands on the small clock by his bed and he groaned, it was too early to be awake.  
Slipping his round, wire rimmed glasses onto his nose, the boy turned to find his shoes, figuring he may as well get up, now that he was awake but an unexpected sight caused him to freeze.   
Lying across his feet was a ragged looking form dressed in torn black robes. The most disconcerting thing about it, besides the fact he was there to begin with, was that Harry could see his faded blanket clear through the man.  
“Ah, hello?” he asked nervously. For all the weird, unexplainable things that had happened to him, ghosts were certainly not one of them.  
The ‘ghost’ groaned softly and pushed himself up off the floor and Harry scuttled back a bit, not at all sure how to react. The figure before him raised his hands to his head, muttering to himself and Harry bit his lip to keep from laughing at some of the vulgar language that he caught every now and then.   
“Ah, sir?” he tried again, this time the ghost seemed to hear him, as he snapped his head up to gaze at him in a rather shocked way.  
“Well this is not normal.” He commented wearily, rubbing at his eyebrow, his voice sounded tired and there was an underlay of pain.  
“Ah, excuse me but, um, who are you?” for some reason, Harry wasn’t alarmed, even though he was, essentially, talking to a dead man. After all, what could he really do to him that would be worse then the torture his cousin put him through?  
The ghost chuckled softly and raised ironic green eyes to meet his, the corner of his mouth quirking into a half smile, “I don’t know Harry, how about you tell me.” Raising a hand, the man swept back his ragged black hair to reveal a lighting bolt shaped scar on his forehead, a scar that Harry was intimately familiar with.  
Swallowing heavily, Harry felt his heart falter slightly, and his eyes flickered over the rest of him, taking in the untidy black hair that refused to lie flat, the round, wire rimmed glasses and the disturbingly familiar green eyes. “I think you were right,” he said weakly, “This is definitely not normal.”  
The ghost chuckled again, a faint light of amusement in his eyes, “You are going to have to get used to things like this, I am afraid.” He said, rather vaguely, settling back against the wall.   
Harry just studied him for a moment, his mind stuttering over what he could only think of as one very strange dream, finally the words sank in and he frowned slightly, “What do you mean by that?”  
The ghost opened his eyes and looked at him for a moment, a faint frown on his face, “Can you tell me something first, what date is it?”  
Not really seeing the relevance, Harry shrugged, “It’s the fifth of July, why?”  
The spectre didn’t seem to be listening, his face had taken on a thoughtful look for a moment before a relieved smile spread across his rather haggard face, “Well, looks like I get to start right from the beginning at least.”  
Harry was really getting confused now, this dream or what ever it was, was making less and less sense. “Um, I’m sorry to ask but, what are you talking about?”  
The man glanced up at him, his face registering surprise before he chuckled, “Sorry, Harry. I suppose this is all rather odd to you. If you haven’t already guessed, I’m you.”  
Harry blinked then shook his head, “Alright, I’m ready to follow that. So what are you doing here? I have to say that talking to my own ghost is rather strange.”  
The older Harry pulled a rueful face, “No kidding, it’s rather disconcerting from my point of view too, to tell the truth. First things first, I have to warn you that this is all going to come as rather a shock, I’m afraid.” Shaking his head he snorted, “Understatement of the century, the shock to the system first time round was more then interesting.”  
Harry tucked his knees up to his chest and cocked his head, “Does this have anything to do with some of the odd things that have happened to me over the years?” he asked curiously. There was something niggling in the back of his mind and it came to him that this visitation might just be able to give him some of the answers he had been looking for.  
His answer was an out right laugh, “Oh yes. That it most certainly does.” The weary voice had taken on a note of rusty humour, “Think over all of those odd things. The ugly clothing that would shrink as Aunt Petunia tried to force it on you. Your hair growing back overnight after one of her horrible hair cuts. The teachers hair turning blue that time.” A smirk grew across his face as Harry watched, his mind swimming, “That python at the zoo.” The other Harry laughed as he flinched, still stinging from the punishment he had received over that little incident. “Well, let me tell you that there is a perfectly good explanation to all of it.”   
He met the other set of green eyes that watched him thoughtfully, “I can give you an idea of what I am talking about and what I am here for,” he told him slowly, “Or I can show you. Are you willing to let me into your mind? That way I can just give you the memories directly and let you see for yourself.”  
Harry blinked in confusion, “Ah, my mind?” he asked, not entirely sure he had heard right.  
The other nodded gravely, “Yes. I can show you my memories and seeing as we are the same person it shouldn’t be too difficult. Once you see what I have to show you, all of this will make a heck of a lot more sense.”  
Harry felt a little apprehensive, after all the thought of someone being able to manipulate your mind was a frightening one, but his curiosity was rather quickly taking over his fear, “Alright,” he answered finally, “Go ahead. After all, if you are me, then I doubt there would be anything in my mind that would be surprising to you.”  
The other Harry snorted softly, “That’s for sure. All you have to do is relax and close your eyes. If I am right, then you won’t even notice the intrusion.”   
He did as he was told, closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath. After a moment there was a faint chill on his forehead and he shivered before his mind came awake with images and he sagged back against his pillows as his brain let go of his body and concentrated on sorting through the information flowing into his head.  
It wasn’t long before the images stopped and once they did he ran through them carefully before opening his eyes to stare at his older self, a feeling of awe running through him, “Damn.” He whispered, rather shocked.  
The older Harry gave a strained smile, “Damn indeed.”  
Shaking his head slightly, Harry pulled himself up again and stared at his hands, “A wizard, huh.” He mused softly. “That certainly explains a lot. And Mum and Dad.” He cast his eyes up to meet the sorrowful gaze of himself, “So this Lord Voldemort is the reason you are here.”  
The other nodded, “I only showed you a few things, mainly to give you an idea of what was happening so this will make more sense, after all, many of my memories are not pleasant, but if you agree to help me, maybe we can change things.”  
Harry spent a moment going over what he had been shown.   
He saw the sweeping towers of Hogwarts, the castle that would become home to him, he saw the faces of other children, a red headed boy, a bushy haired, bossy girl. Friends that would mean everything to him. He also saw the face of a hideous creature, red reptilian eyes glaring into his mind, he felt the echo of great pain and even greater grief. Last of all, he was shown the voices of the fates, giving him the chance to try again.  
“What do I have to do.” He whispered, echoing the memory in his mind. There was a faint sigh and he opened his eyes to see naked relief on the haggard face before him.  
“Just let me in.”   
He closed his eyes again and this time when he felt the cold touch on his brow everything went black.

Part 2: And So it Begins

“Up! Get up! Now!” Harry grimaced and blinked open his eyes as his Aunts grating voice came through the door. Shaking his head slightly, Harry tried to orientate himself as she rapped at the door and he groaned, hearing her footsteps head off to the kitchen.   
Sitting up, he gabbed at his head as everything seemed to swim for a moment before coming into focus again with a snap as his merged memories synchronised.   
“We did it.” he whispered to himself, both consciousness’s in complete harmony.   
It was a rather odd sensation as both spirits were aware of each other but shared the same thoughts; the older spirit had an overwhelming sense of relief and hope where as the younger was more in awe of what they had accomplished.  
He sat for a moment, gathering his confused thoughts trying to pinpoint exactly where his memories joined, ‘Oh, right. It’s the sixth today. I’m being sent to Mrs Figg’s while they get Dudley’s uniform.’   
Feeling much more optimistic about today then either of them remembered being, Harry pulled on his shoes then let himself out of his cupboard and stretched his back.   
There was a brief moment of trouble when he started to walk as the older spirit was used to longer legs so he stumbled a bit until he managed to level things out, but aside from that, he went into the kitchen and prepared breakfast with rather good cheer, completely ignoring the insults of his family, much to their confusion.  
After everyone had finished eating, Harry cleared the dishes without being asked then slipped out to sit on the doorstep as his family got themselves organised to leave.   
While he waited, he slipped into his own mind;

“So, how do you think we should handle this? You are the one who has been through all this before so I’ll follow your lead.”

“I’m not entirely sure. There are some things we will have to take care of pretty quickly but I don’t want to confuse things too much. We are going to have to play a careful game here.”

“Do you think we should get Mrs Figg’s help?” the older spirit laughed as he caught the surprise that was still leaking out of his younger self at the information that Mrs Figg was an untalented witch, or squib.

“I think we should be careful to begin with. There are some major laws regarding messing with the timeline. Although I hardly think they are going to be able to say much in this case. Why don’t we just play this by ear at the moment.”

Harry snapped back into focus as the door behind him opened and he scrabbled to his feet. Aunt Petunia cast an odd look at him then gestured sharply for him to follow as she led him down the street and mentally, Harry rolled his eyes. It was taking some getting used to, having memories of things that hadn’t happened yet but it made it easier when people acted as they always had.   
He ignored his Aunt as she nattered instructions at him and instead studied the street around him. His mind showed him two images, the one he was seeing overshadowed by a darker image of the same houses lit up by flickering flames, the neat gardens torn up and strewn with the bodies of the dead. Over it all a glowing green skull loomed, a snake slithering from the grinning jaws.  
“What is with you this morning, boy?” his aunt’s sharp voice penetrated his musing and he gave a shudder before assuming a carefully blank expression.  
“Nothing, just tired.” He muttered. He could see the desire to screech at him for his lack of manners flicker in hers eyes and her horse like face hardened as she turned away from him, not willing to berate him in public.  
Shaking his head at the familiar reaction, Harry stayed silent as she led him up the path of the house he had dreaded in his younger days. Before he had learned who the old woman who had taken care of him actually was.  
Aunt Petunia knocked on the front door and waited for Mrs Figg to open it before stiffly thanking her for watching ‘the boy’ then turning back down the path, leaving Harry standing on the porch.  
Harry felt himself more kindly disposed towards her, courtesy of his new memories, and without thinking he nodded his head gravely, “Good morning, Mrs Figg.”  
The old woman stared at him in surprise and he mentally slapped himself for acting out of character. “Good Morning.” She answered and he could see her eyes skimming over him, a faint frown on her face.   
He knew she didn’t have any magic, but she was observant, that was why she had been placed here to watch him in the first place, he should have known she would pick up on something had changed.   
After a moment she nodded to herself and stepped back to let him through and he slipped past her into her home. He had once thought she was more than a little daft, with all of her cats and some of the weird things she collected, but now he looked around her home and had to bite back on a grin as he recognised many of the odd ornaments for what they were, magical devices that didn’t need a wand to be activated.  
Once the front door closed the old woman came up to him, her eyes questioning, “What has happened?” she asked softly. Harry debated about what to tell her. He thought about keeping her ignorant, but he knew she would be reporting to Dumbledore that he had been acting oddly, and the last thing he needed at the moment was the old man poking his nose in before he had worked out what he was going to do.  
Taking a deep breath, he let in out slowly, then shook his head, “I really think you should take a seat.” He told her gravely.   
Mrs Figg’s eyes widened and she did as he suggested, “I have a feeling that somehow you have found out information you shouldn’t.” she muttered.  
Harry chuckled and sat across from her, “You could say that.” He shook his head, “I can’t give you all the details, not yet. But I’m going to have to ask you to keep this out of your report to Dumbledore.” The old woman’s eyes widened in shock and he grimaced, “Oh yes, I know. All I can tell you now is that there is no longer any reason for the secrecy.”  
She continued to stare at him in shock for a moment longer then shook her head, her grey hair wisping out from under her bonnet, “Well, I have no idea what has happened, but I must say you certainly are different. How much do you actually know, Harry?”  
He grinned, he would have to try harder to act like a ten year old, this whole thing of having forty year old memories was disconcerting, “Let’s just say that when my letter arrives in a few days it is going to be less of a shock to me then the muggles I live with.”   
That surprised a laugh out of her and she shook her head, “Well, if that is the case, feel free to rummage through some of the books if you want. I have a few there that might be of interest to you.”  
He smiled in thanks but there was one concern he had, “So, are you going to inform the headmaster?”  
She shook her head, “No, I suppose not. If you know what is going on, I assume there is a reason for you not wanting him informed.”  
He nodded, “There are a few things I need to do before he finds out, but trust me, there is nothing to be alarmed about. I just need to make sure I have a few things in place before he learns what I know. I’d rather he not panic at the moment.”  
The rest of the day he spent a pleasant time reading through some of the books she had hidden behind the dusty encyclopaedia’s in her bookcase, ranging from a few basic magical history books to a few of the ones that held articles about him. He hadn’t really bothered reading them before, so skimming through them now had him laughing incredulously. He had no idea that so much rubbish had been written about him, no wonder people had such a warped opinion of him.   
The rest of the time he talked with Mrs Figg, he didn’t give her any information about what he knew, or how he came by the information, but it was pleasant to talk to her without all the pretence. So by the time his Aunt came to collect him that afternoon he was hard pressed to act as depressed as he normally would have been after being left with the ‘barmy old woman’ for the entire day.  
That evening, Dudley paraded around the living room for the family in his new uniform and Harry thought he was going to bust a lung trying to hold back his laughter. Even a second time round, the sight of his pudgy cousin in the maroon tailcoat, orange knickerbockers and flat straw hat was beyond hilarious.   
He merely held his breath and rolled his eyes at his uncles comment about this being the proudest moment of his life.  
Throughout dinner, he had pondered what he was going to do in regards to his Aunt. He wanted to bring her around before it was too late this time, maybe he would be able to save them if he could convince her to pull her head out of the sand. As much as he resented his muggle relatives, the sight of them being taken down by death eaters for no other reason then that they were there was something that he would always remember.   
From what he could recall, once things started getting more and more tense in the wizarding world, she had payed more and more attention but he doubted he could get her to listen if he just warned her straight out. The jealousy she held for her sister was a strong hurdle to overcome.  
By the time he closed himself in his cupboard for the night, he still hadn’t come up with a viable plan. So he split his consciousness in an effort to talk things through.

“So what do you suggest we do? I mean, if it is as important as you think to bring her around now, we are going to have to think of something before we head to school.”

“True, but it is going to be difficult. I had a lot of trouble last time with her over Mum. I think that we are going to just have to give a few nudges to begin with. If we take things too fast, she will panic. Anyway, we should get the letter tomorrow in the post. After that I think that convincing Aunt Petunia to give up that note from Dumbledore might be the first course of action. I don’t know exactly what he wrote, but there might be something in there that could be of use.”

“I agree, although I think it would be better if we manage to talk to her after Uncle Vernon leaves for work. Somehow I think she might react better if he isn’t there hanging over her shoulder.”

“Agreed.”

The next morning Harry caught a familiar smell when he walked into the kitchen for breakfast and he smiled slightly to himself.  
Going over to the sink he looked down at the tub of grey water with it’s load of old clothes and chuckled softly to himself. “Oh well, may as well play along for now.”  
“What’s this?” he asked.  
Aunt Petunia frowned at him as she came over to the sink and stirred the contents of the tub, “It’s your new school uniform.” She answered.  
Harry mentally rolled his eyes but put in the smart comment he remembered giving the first time round, knowing it would annoy her, “Oh,” he deadpanned, “I didn’t realise it had to be so wet.”  
“Don’t be stupid.” She snapped, right on queue, “I’m dying some of Dudley’s old things grey for you. They will look just like everyone else’s when I am done.”  
Somehow that statement was even less convincing then the first time she said it. Harry just shook his head and took a seat at the table. It wasn’t as if he had to really worry about the stupid uniform any more. It was odd really, the merger of the two spirits had managed to give the younger Harry a lot brighter outlook on things.  
It wasn’t long before Dudley and Uncle Vernon joined them in the kitchen and Harry anxiously waited. Getting the Hogwarts letter was just the beginning, but it was a significant step, so he strained his ears as he picked at his breakfast, trying not to be too obvious that he was waiting for something.  
The click of the letterbox and the sound of letters hitting the mat almost had him jumping to his feet, but he held back, not wanting to cause suspicion.  
“Get the post, Dudley.” Uncle Vernon ordered absently from behind his newspaper.  
“Make Harry get it.”  
“Get the post Harry.”  
At the order, Harry got up from his chair with a faint glower at his cousin and made his way out into the hall.   
Picking up the letters, he shuffled through them until a familiar envelope with emerald green writing caught his attention. With a smile of satisfaction, he slipped the letter into his shirt then headed back to the kitchen.   
“And so it begins.”


	3. The Letter

  
Author's notes: Ch 3: The letter arrives  


* * *

Chapter 3:

The Letter

Coming back to the kitchen, Harry wordlessly handed his Uncle the mail then slipped back into his seat, going over in his mind his plans for his Aunt once his cousin and Uncle left for the day. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say to her, after all, the reaction they had given last time over his Hogwarts letter had been more then half insane.   
He was so deep in thought that Uncle Vernon actually shouted at him that he had better not pass on his germs if he was getting sick, thinking that his silence was due to him not feeling well.  
Once the breakfast dishes were cleared away, Harry sat down at the kitchen table while his aunt saw the other two off for the day and reached for the envelope he had hidden earlier.   
Slipping his hand into his shirt, he pulled out the letter and studied the familiar handwriting, a sense of nostalgia creeping over him. He had never actually gotten to open this one. He had lost count of how many letters he had been bombarded with before Hagrid had threatened his family into letting him read it.  
Shaking his head at his own foolishness, he flipped the letter and slid his thumb under the edge to break the wax seal, chuckling to himself as he felt a surge of excitement from his younger soul as he slipped the folded parchment out and opened it.   
He was rather looking forward to being able to relive some aspects of his life and he was pleased that he had the emotions of his younger self along with the knowledge of his older. Magic always was a heck of a lot more fun when it was all knew, after all.  
Skimming over the letter, he smiled to himself as he read the familiar words;

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,  
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Mr Potter,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of the necessary books and equipment.  
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall  
Deputy Headmistress

 

‘Nice to hear from you, Professor.’ He thought to himself, smiling softly. It had been so long since he had spoken to the stern witch and he rather looked forward to seeing her again.   
Hearing the front door close again, he laid the letter on the table and folded his hands, waiting for Aunt Petunia to re-enter the kitchen.  
He watched her carefully as she bustled through the door, not even looking at him, “Well boy, what are you still doing… in… here…” she stuttered to a stop as she glanced over at him, taking in his solum expression, her eyes flickered to the sheets of parchment on the table and the colour slowly drained from her face as she realised what the letter must be.  
“I’d like to speak with you, Aunt Petunia.” He said softly and she flinched as if he had shouted at her. Her eyes flickered back and forth between his face and the letter and she slowly lowered herself into one of the kitchen chairs.  
“What is this all about?” he asked her quietly, tapping the letter. He wanted to see how much she would actually tell him, it would give him an idea of how resistant she was going to be about all of this without Uncle Vernon there to dictate matters.  
Her expression slowly started to turn sour, “I wondered when that would get here,” she muttered and he raised an eyebrow at her.  
Seeing his expression she snorted, “Oh yes, I know what it is. I have seen one before after all. Our parents were so proud when my freak of a sister received hers.”  
Sighing to himself, Harry mentally shook his head, he was going to have to take this carefully. “So this is real then?” he whispered, placing as much wonder in his voice as he could.   
His Aunt snorted at him and snatched at the letter, her eyes scanning over the words, “Yes, it is real, stupid boy. And it is something we have been trying to squash out of you since you were dumped on our doorstep. I’d hoped that old fool had given up on you by now.”  
He pondered the other sheet of parchment that held his supply list as if he was trying to work something out in his head; finally he looked up at her, pasting a look of confusion on his face. “From the letter it looks as though they expect me to already know what they are talking about, shouldn’t they have sent someone to explain things? I mean, where am I supposed to get all this stuff anyway?”  
Aunt Petunia’s face was growing sourer by the minute and finally she sighed, a look of disgust on her face, “I suppose I may as well give it to you, seeing as it is too late now.” She muttered. Climbing to her feet she left the room to come back a moment later with another envelope in her hands, “I want you to keep this from Vernon. He is going to be angry enough that you got that other letter without him knowing I gave you this one.” She thrust the envelope at him then stormed from the room.  
Harry sat for a moment staring at the emerald green writing on the front that addressed the letter to his Aunt and Uncle. He had found out after he had gone to school that the Headmaster had left this here but he had never had the chance to ask after it.  
Slipping the letter out, he found another envelope inside, this one addressed to him. Placing it to one side, he scanned through what Dumbledore had written to his relatives and snorted. They wouldn’t have understood half of what the old man was talking about.  
He told them about Harry’s parents murder and warned them that things were still not safe, then went on to inform them of the blood wards placed on the house and reminding Petunia of the her obligation to take in the son of her deceased sister. He also mentioned that she was to give the enclosed letter to him a few months before his eleventh birthday in order to give him the chance to prepare before his school letter arrived.  
Raising an eyebrow, he reached for the other letter. Flipping it over, he studied the seal then laughed to himself. It didn’t matter if his relatives had been curious enough to read the other letter or not, they wouldn’t have been able to. Over the top of the red Hogwarts seal he recognised the shimmer of a protection ward, only the person whom the letter was addressed to would be able to open it.  
Brushing his fingers over the seal he felt the tingle of the ward activating and the letter unfolded itself.  
Taking a deep breath, he picked up the piece of parchment and smiled at the familiar neat script. 

Dear Harry,   
I’d guess you are rather confused at present. If your Aunt has done as I asked, you should have received this letter a few months before your eleventh birthday as there are a few things you will need to know. Early in July, you will receive a letter welcoming you to Hogwarts. I don’t know how much your family will tell you about your heritage, so I will give you a brief overview here. You are in fact a wizard, as your father was before you. Your mother was a witch and I had the pleasure of being their Headmaster during their tenure here with us.   
When you come to be with us, you will be famous and I believe it might be a good idea to prepare you a little before hand.   
I know this will come as a shock to you, as I have the feeling your Aunt will neglect to tell you much, but both your mother and father where murdered by a Dark Wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort. What this has to do with you is the fact that somehow, when he went after you, his curse backfired, causing him to loose his power. Many of our world view you as a hero, even if you do not remember what happened. All I ask is that you be tolerant until things can be explained to you.  
There will be much that I will have to tell you, when you are ready, but in the mean time, I extend you a welcome hand.   
When you receive your school letter, you will need to send a confirmation to us; all you need to do is to write a brief note and then hand it to the owl who delivered our letter to you.   
If you have any troubles, write them to us and we will see what we can do.

Yours truly,

Aldus Dumbledore  
Headmaster

Harry read through the letter then sighed. It didn’t give him any information but he had to admit that it would have helped greatly the first time round if he had been able to read it, it would have made a lot of things easier to stomach. Especially when he worked out how much had been kept from him. If he’d had that promise from the start that the old man would tell him, even if it was only when he deemed him ready, at least he would have known that he would receive answers, in time.  
Sitting back in the kitchen chair he pondered what he had to do now then snorted as something came to him. All things considered, he had no choice but to sit tight until he heard back from the Headmaster, after all, he had no way of getting to Diagon Alley. Even if he could talk his Aunt into driving him into London, he had no way of getting through the barrier without a wand and he didn’t think it would be a good idea walking around unarmed anyway.   
Going over to the kitchen drawer, he took out a notebook and pen and carried it back to the table. Thinking it over carefully, he wrote out a reply, trying to sound as if he was totally ignorant, knowing that Dumbledore would be able to pick up on any discrepancies if he wasn’t careful;

Dear Ms McGonagall,  
As requested, I am replying to your letter to say I accept the position offered within your school. My Aunt also gave me a letter from Mr Dumbledore and he said that if I had any troubles, then I was to mention them to you.  
I need to know where I am to get my school supplies from and how am I to pay for them? I doubt my Aunt and Uncle will be willing to bye them for me, as they seem to be very angry about all of this. Is it possible to order any of the books? Or do I get them from school? Also, how do I get to Hogwarts? My Aunt is unwilling to answer any questions and she told me that she wasn’t going to allow me to attend.   
Please, I am unsure of what I am supposed to do.

Yours sincerely,

Harry Potter.

Reading through what he had written, he nodded in satisfaction. Hopefully, the Headmaster would still send Hagrid for him, after all, he had to get his Gringotts key off them before he went anywhere and he would like to meet the half giant before heading to school. Hagrid had been his first friend in the wizarding world and for some reason he couldn’t explain, he wanted to keep that the same.  
Folding the letter, he slipped it into an envelope and addressed it to the Deputy Headmistress, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Slipping out of the kitchen, he made sure that his Aunt was occupied before creeping out to the front yard and handing the letter to the owl that was still perched on the mailbox.  
Watching the bird fly off, he sighed, itching to get moving but knowing he had to wait for now. ‘Well old friend, it’s in your hands now.’ He thought, heading back into the house.

Dumbledore’s answer arrived two days later, in the rather large form of one Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts.  
Neither Harry nor Aunt Petunia had informed Uncle Vernon of the arrival of Harry’s school letter so it was a rather large shock for him when the huge half giant showed up on the doorstep early one morning, just after dawn.  
The entire household had been woken by a thunderous knock at the door; Harry himself had been startled out of nightmare strewn sleep only to reach frantically for a wand he didn’t carry yet as his memories jumbled, leaving him unsure if he was eleven years old and safe or twenty and waking up in the middle of an attack.  
Sounds of his Uncle cursing brought his mind back into focus and he swore to himself as he realised who would be making all that noise. He rattled at the locked door to his cupboard in a vain attempt to get it open before his Uncle answered the door, not that he had much hope of that, hearing heavy footsteps thunder down the stairs over his head.  
With a sinking feeling of dread, Harry rested his head against the door and listened as the front door was wrenched open and Uncle Vernon’s voice thundered, “WHAT IN BLASES IS ALL THIS NOISE SO EARLY… IN…The… morn…”  
Harry couldn’t help snickering as the man’s voice stuttered off. He could clearly see in his mind the look of horror that was surely crossing his Uncle’s face as he came face to, well chest, with an eight foot tall walking haystack.   
It took a moment for Vernon Dursley to regain his momentum, but it was clear that Hagrid entering the house while he stared was enough to overcome his shock, “HEY, NOW YOU SEE HERE MISTER. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? THIS IS TRESPASSING I TELL YOU. I HAVE HALF A MIND TO CALL THE POLICE, WHAT….”  
Hagrid’s voice cut through the shouting and Harry grinned to hear his old friend again, “Ah, shut up, Dursley, yeh great prune. I’m not here fer yeh. Headmaster Dumbledore sent me fer young Harry. Now, where is he?”  
Harry tapped at the door, knowing that Hagrid would hear and it took about three seconds for the locked door to be pulled clear off it’s hinges, much to the horror of Harry’s relatives if the expressions on their faces was anything to go by.  
“Now, Harry. What were yeh doin’ in there?” Harry couldn’t help grinning as he straightened up and looked way up into that welcome, familiar face.   
“I take it the Headmaster received my letter.” He said, remembering his role at the last minute. His Uncles face looked like a thundercloud and Harry had to hold back a sigh, he was going to hear about this one for sure once Hagrid left, but for the life of him, he couldn’t bring himself to care.  
“Blimey Harry, yeh certainly grew up ter look like yeh Dad, didn’ yeh.” Hagrid exclaimed happily, “Let me introduce meself, Rubius Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts. Professor Dumbledore sent me ter help yeh ou’ b’for term start’s.”   
Uncle Vernon let out a choked sound and Hagrid turned an enquiring look his way, “What are you talking about.” He demanded, visibly pulling himself together, “I don’t recall telling anyone that the boy would be going to any weirdo school. What are you doing here?”  
Hagrid merely snorted and turned his attention back to Harry, “Muggles.” He muttered and Harry snickered. Without further word, Hagrid stepped back and motioned for Harry to lead the way, “Well common Harry. Need ter get yeh ter London an’ buy all yer stuff fer school.”  
Uncle Vernon stepped forward to block the passage, “Now see here you. I don’t know who you think you are, but the boy isn’t going anywhere. He will go to the school I tell him to go to and that doesn’t include some crackpot old fool and his school for freaks.”  
Predictably Hagrid riled up at the implied insult to his hero but Harry placed his hand on the huge arm to hold him back. As much as he had enjoyed Hagrid giving his cousin a pig tail, he knew that this time around he’d likely get into trouble if he used magic considering he hadn’t needed so much effort to find him.  
At his touch, Hagrid relaxed, contenting himself with throwing a nasty scowl at the now cowering man facing him before pushing his way past, Harry following behind him. Once he reached the door, Harry threw a glance over his shoulder and locked eyes with his Aunt. For a moment he let his true self show on his face, pulling his ‘bewildered youngster’ expression back over his features as her face went white. He needed her to start thinking about what was happening instead of deliberately ignoring it, otherwise he would get no where with her. With a nod of his head, he followed Hagrid out into the street. First things first, purchasing his wand was paramount.


	4. Diagon Alley

  
Author's notes: Ch 4: step into Diagon Alley  


* * *

Chapter 4:

Diagon Alley

The trip to London went unnoticed by Harry as he mostly kept his attention inward, his two souls discussing what they planned to do.

“I really think that this trip we should act naive. Hagrid isn’t all that observant really, but if he thinks we are acting odd, he will mention it to the Headmaster. We can always come back, once we purchase our wand.”

He continued to watch out the window of the train as they travelled, seemingly lost in thought, leaving Hagrid to alternate between watching him carefully and staring at some of the odd muggle contraptions that caught his eye.

“What other things do you think we are going to need?”

“I believe that we should set in a stock of some of the more rare potion ingredients as well as take a look around for some books that might be of use. Last time around, I had to fumble through things as best I could, this time I have a chance to be prepared. We may as well use the opportunity to learn as much as we can that might be of use.”

“I guess I can see the sense in that.” Looking over at his travel companion, Harry could feel a deep sense of pain from the older half of his soul, “What is it?”

There was a faint sigh and the feeling of pain deepened, “This is going to be a lot harder then I thought, seeing them all again.”

He bit back on a shiver as images flashed in his head, old memories that hit the younger responses. Seeing his old friends wasn’t the only thing that was going to be difficult. It was possible for either soul to take control at any one time but normally they sort of existed as a kind of combined spirit. It was possible to access all of his memories but his emotions were a combination of both, the innocent naïve eleven year old and the world weary, war battered forty year old. Somehow he had the feeling that the compromise between his two halves was going to be interesting to say the least.   
Some of his inner conflict must have shown on his face as Hagrid turned to him, a look of concern on his huge features just as the train pulled into the station “Everthin’ a’right there Harry?”  
At his question, Harry snapped back into focus and smiled up at him, suppressing the deep pain he felt seeing that familiar face ruthlessly, “Yeah, fine. I was just thinking.” Lifting up his book list, he scanned through it quickly and let a faint frown come to his face, “Can we really get all this stuff in London?”  
“If yeh know where to go. Common, yeh’ll see. Some times it’s easier to hide things in plain sight, if yeh know wha’ I mean.”  
Harry followed as Hagrid led the way off the train and up into the streets of London. From his older memories he knew they were a few blocks from the Leaky Cauldron. “Hagrid, what can you tell me about my parents?” he asked after a moment. They hadn’t spoken most of the trip and he wanted to the half giant to remain his friend this time round as well.  
Hagrid glanced back at him and shortened his stride when he noticed Harry skipping to keep up, ‘Damn short legs, can’t wait until I grow a bit.’   
“No’ sure how much I can tell yeh, Harry. Good people they were, tha’s fer sure. Some of the best aroun’. Was a real shame when they died.”  
Harry didn’t even have to fake the sigh he gave. Both sides of his soul felt the ache of their death, even though one of them had know for years and the other had only found out a few days before, “Headmaster Dumbledore told me what happened.” He said softly and Hagrid threw a startled look down at him.  
“I did nah think yeh had met the Professor yet.” He exclaimed in confusion.   
Harry chuckled and waved a hand, “I haven’t, he left a letter with my Aunt explaining a few things.”  
Hagrid nodded in understanding, looking away again and watching the muggles around them, ignoring the shocked looks cast his way, “Good man, Dumbledore. Should have know he would do summut like tha’. Here we are Harry, the Leaky Cauldron.” Hagrid gestured at the run down old pub and Harry marvelled again at how they were able to hide the place in plain sight.   
Thinking over his plans for this trip, the older soul slipped back a little to give the younger one more control. This was a harmless trip and there was no way he was going to ruin the wonder for his younger self, after all, as he had thought earlier, magic was a hell of a lot more fun when it was all new.  
So it was an excited Harry that followed his tall escort into the rundown looking pub known as the Leaky Cauldron.  
The place was a dim and shabby looking as ever and the low buzz of conversation ended as they entered, some the customers calling greetings to Hagrid as old Tom called from his place behind the bar, “The usual Hagrid?”  
“Can’t Tom, I’m on Hogwarts business.” He clapped Harry on the shoulder, almost bringing him to his knees.  
“Good Lord,” said the barman, peering at Harry, “Can this be…”  
The whole pub had gone completely still and silent and Harry mentally rolled his eyes;

“Here it comes.”

“Yeah, I mean, all I have is your memories to go by and already it is annoying.”

“Bless my soul,” the old barman whispered, “It’s Harry Potter.”   
Sighing to himself Harry smiled rather nervously as the customers all came up to him to shake his hand and greet him. There was one face missing from what his older memories showed him however;

“So where is that Professor Quirrell? I though you met him here.”

“I did, but this time round we came here a few weeks before I did. We weren’t dragged halfway around the country by Uncle Vernon.” The voice was silent for a moment and Harry continued to greet the wizards and witches, keeping his mind divided between his conversation and what was going on around him, “I wonder how this is going to change things.” He finally continued, “Quirrell went after the Philosophers Stone after Hagrid and I retrieved it that day. I’m just hoping the Headmaster thinks to move it still, even though he doesn’t have the excuse of Hagrid taking me to Mum and Dad’s vault to cover the trip.”

Hagrid finally managed to call over the top of all the noise that they had to go and the crowd finally let them through.   
Harry sighed in relief as he followed Hagrid out the back door into the blank courtyard and he found himself almost grinning in excitement. In the back of his mind, he heard his older self chuckling indulgently but he just sent a mental raspberry at him, which had him laughing harder. Even though he could access the others memories as if they were his own, it was still something different to actually experience what those memories showed.  
He watched Hagrid tap out the sequence on the bricks, wondering to himself how no one seemed to have noticed the man had the broken pieces of his wand in that umbrella, after all, he did use the thing to get him through the barrier every time.  
A few seconds later the barrier rearranged itself into an archway and Hagrid swept his arm grandly, “Welcome, Harry, to Diagon Alley.”  
Harry gazed around in delight at everything as they walked down the twisted street and Hagrid laughed at his reaction, “You’ll be needin’ one of those.” He told him, pointing to the Cauldron shop, “But we gotta get yer money first.”  
Harry responded without thinking, “What money?” he blinked as the spirit in the back of his mind laughed at him then grinned sheepishly to himself as Hagrid chuckled.  
“D’yeh think yeh parents left yeh with nothing? Tha’s where we are headed firs’. Gringotts, Wizarding Bank.”  
Looking down the street, Harry caught sight of the huge white building;

“We’ll have to visit the bank again when we come back,” the spirit mused, “There are a few things we will have to organise pretty quickly, but the trick is managing it all under the Headmaster’s nose without him finding out until we want him to.”

He left it at that but Harry had a fair idea of what his older self was planning.   
Gazing around at all of the shops he laughed as he caught snatches of conversations and read some of the signs of what was for sale. Passing one particular shop, he eyed the crowd gathered outside and couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face;

“Hey, do you think McGonagall will get a broom for us again?”

“Don’t know. Tell you what though, if she doesn’t we are heading back here as fast as possible. Oh, to be able to fly again.”

Harry laughed aloud at the longing he felt from his older self, this juggling of two sets of emotions was actually kind of fun at times

“I can’t wait to try it.”

Something else came to mind at the thought of brooms and he frowned slightly as the memory of the Firebolt his older self had been given came to mind;

“Speaking of brooms,” He said carefully, “What are we going to do about Sirius?” Harry was rather glad it was the younger soul that was in control at that point as the older one tripped and fell on his mental face at the question. As it was he still stumbled slightly, smiling and shaking his head at Hagrid’s concerned glance;

“Are you all right?” he asked finally. A sense of almost desperate wonder radiated off his older self and the spirit almost whispered in reply.

“That’s right. Sirius is alive again and this time round, perhaps we can save him.”

The pain from one soul touched the joy from the other and Harry had to suppress a giddy laugh. He had been so happy when the memories of Sirius had come to him, it was just funny that in all of his plans, his older self still avoided thinking of their Godfather, still feeling the guilt of his death. 

“So what do you think we should do?” he asked eagerly. 

The other still seemed to be in a daze as he answered, “I’m not sure. This is going to take some serious planning.”

He fell silent again and Harry could feel him thinking hard as he turned his attention back to what was happening around him. They had arrived at Gringotts and Hagrid was leading him up the wide marble stairs.  
“Yeh’d be a fool to try an’ rob this place.” Hagrid told him conversationally, “Take a look there.” He pointed to the sign off to one side and Harry ran through what it said, seeing the echo of it in his memory;

Enter, stranger, but take heed  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn,  
So if you seek, beneath our floors,  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there.

The two goblins on guard at the door bowed to them as they entered and Harry was hard pressed not to stare at them. His memory showed him everything that was beyond the sliver doors but he was still in awe as Hagrid led him past the hundreds of goblins perched along the long counter that ran the length of the vast marble hall.  
He listened absently as Hagrid explained to the goblin why they were there and searched his pocket for Harry’s key. Instead he watched some of the other goblins at work. He noted from his memories that his older self had worked extensively with the goblins after Voldemort had raided the Wizarding bank. They had managed to repel the attack but were forced to lock down the vaults and anyone wanting to access them had to work directly through a goblin associate. The creatures were fiercely protective of the valuables that had been placed in their care and Harry had worked with them to come up with a solution to the security issues.  
He brought his attention back to the counter as the Goblin serving them called out for their guide. He also noted that Hagrid had made no mention of vault seven hundred and thirteen.

‘Hmmm, I hope professor Dumbledore does think to move that stone.’ He thought to himself as he followed the bank representative down to the carts that would take them to the lower levels; the older spirit was still silent in the back of his mind, ‘Somehow I think that if Voldemort got hold of it, everything could work out even worse then before.’  
The goblin silently piled them into one of the carts and whistled to get the thing moving and Harry turned his attention inwards once more, knowing Hagrid would rather concentrate on keeping his insides from turning the wrong way out;

“If you keep thinking so hard, you are going to give me a headache as well.” He directed mildly at the silent presence that shared his headspace. There was a sense of surprise and he chuckled, “So, have you come up with anything yet?”

“Not really. Nothing concrete anyway.” The other answered, his mental voice still thoughtful, “I do think that we should contact Lupin though. I have a feeling he would be of great help in this particular situation.”

Harry felt a little wistful, but he couldn’t really tell which of them it was coming from, perhaps both, “Do you think we could tell him what is going on?” he asked softly, “From what I have seen in your memories, I think that he would trustworthy and I think that the more help we get the better. He might have some idea of how to proceed.” The other was silent for a moment and Harry almost held his breath.

“Come to think of it,” he finally answered, “I don’t see why not. As you said, he could be of a great help to us, not only with getting Sirius out but with information. He could tell us what the Order was up to at the moment, allowing us to work our plans without messing up theirs.” There was a faint chuckle and Harry couldn’t help but smile as he felt the hope rising from both his souls, “Tell you the truth though.” The other told him softly, a half sad half rueful tone in his mind voice, “I rather miss the old wolf.”

His attention snapped back into focus as the cart jolted to a stop and Hagrid heaved himself out, followed by the goblin. The small creature unlocked the vault and Harry stepped forward to stare in shock at the mountains of coins on the other side of that door.  
“All yours Harry.” Hagrid told him, smiling.

“And that is only a fraction of it, my friend.” His other self told him as he stared dumbly at the fortune before him.  
“Just think of it.” he continued wickedly, knowing exactly what was running through his younger self’s mind, “Now you can by yourself something decent to wear instead of that ragbag collection of sacks you call clothes now.”  
Finally shaking off his daze, Harry scooped coins into a bag with Hagrid’s help, talking to the spirit the whole time;

“Like you can talk. I mean, look at what you are wearing.” He sent him a mental picture of how the other had looked to him the night he had shown up on the foot of his bed, complete with tattered, blood stained robes.

“Alright, alright. I concede the point, sheesh.”

Harry just snickered to himself.  
On the cart ride back to the surface, Hagrid was silent again and Harry could see a faint green tinge coming to his huge face;

“You know, we might be able to get some of the other stuff today as well.” The spirit mused, “Some of the more harmless things anyway. Hagrid will probably want to go back to the Leaky Cauldron for an hour or so to recover, at least he did last time.”

Harry nodded and when they strode out of the bank, blinking at the glare, he turned to the queasy looking half giant, “You don’t look so good.” The concern in his voice was genuine and Hagrid gave him a small smile, “Are you all right?”  
“Yeh’re right, I hate them Gringotts carts. Would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron?”  
Expecting the question, Harry just shrugged and gave him a smile, so it came about again that Harry entered Madam Malkin’s robe shop alone, although this time he wasn’t nearly so nervous.  
At the tinkle from the small bell on the door, the squat, smiling form of Madam Malkin bustled into the room, “Hogwarts, Dear?” she asked and Harry smiled, both in answer to her question and to the commentary coming from the back of his head;

“This place never changes. At least this time that pratt, Malfoy isn’t here.”

“That is another situation that we are going to have to consider carefully.”

“Hmm, I agree. Much as I hate the git, he didn’t deserve to die like he did.”

Harry climbed up onto the stool as the witch directed and stood still as her tape measure took his measurements;

“Do you think that we should get some other robes while we are here? Besides our school robes I mean.”

“Might not be too bad an idea.”

As Madam Malkin shuffled out the back to collect school robes in his size Harry browsed the other robes she had on display;

“How about this? It’s not overly colourful and it’s a respectable looking set.”

The older spirit chuckled as Harry ran his hand over the soft fabric of a set of deep green robes with gold trim, “Gryffindor and Slytherin colours, how ironic. Why not? As you said, it is a nice set and they don’t stand out that much either.”

In the end they purchased not only their school robes but the green and gold set and another set of deep red with silver trim. Their choices rather amused them both and as they left the robes shop the spirit chuckled to himself;

“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing really. I was just wondering how the hat is going to sort us. I mean when it sorted me, it was a toss up between Slytherin and Gryffindor, I wonder how it will react to both of our minds. I mean, think about it, I have changed a lot since my first year, and you certainly are different to how I was first time simply because you have all the information that was kept from me.”

“Well I suppose we will have to wait and find out.” Suddenly he laughed, “Hey, how do think old Snape would react if we were put in Slytherin.”

“Heh, somehow I don’t think I want to find out. So, where to now? Want to take a look over at Flourish and Blotts? Hagrid will catch up to us eventually but we may find some interesting books in there in the mean time.”

By the time Hagrid came looking for him, Harry was deep in the shelves of the bookstore. The clerk had already gathered the books on his school list and just watched indulgently as the small boy browsed the shelves, exclaiming in excitement over some of his finds and muttering to himself.  
“You got a real scholar in the making here, Hagrid.” He heard the man comment and he glanced up to catch the amused expressions on both their faces and felt himself blush;

 

“Damn, if we’re not careful, we are going to have a worse reputation then Hermione for being a book worm.” The spirit commented with exasperated amusement. 

Harry just laughed and carried an armload of extra books up to the counter. Most of them were companion books to the ones recommended by the school, so the clerk didn’t find it in any way odd for a studious looking boy to be collecting material that corresponded with his school supplies. Little did he know, some of the information contained in some of those books went well beyond what was even taught to seventh years, let alone first. Once he paid for the books, the clerk put a shrinking charm on them, as Madam Malkin had on their parcel of robes, one that all store owners seemed to know, which came in handy for students that were forbidden to practice magic outside school as all that was required to reverse it was a tap of a wand.

They spent the rest of the morning collecting potions ingredients and some of the other small items he would need when it finally came time to collect his wand. Both of Harry’s souls almost quivered with suppressed emotion as he pushed open the door to Ollivander’s Wands. The younger was excited to be getting the one piece of equipment that marked him irrefutably as a wizard, the older was looking forward to having some protection at hand again.  
As soon as he entered the room, Harry felt the very air tingling with magical residue;

“How odd, I didn’t sense this last time. Then again, I suppose I wouldn’t have recognised it if I did.” The spirit mused and Harry rubbed at his arms;

“What is it?”

“Nothing to be alarmed about, you are just sensing the magic off all the wands stacked in here. There are hundreds of them. My guess is that our magic reserves kicked up a little when we merged. If that is what happened, then I think that we are going to have some fun once we start practicing. We are going to need to work out how much our magic has changed as a consequence.”

While they were talking Mr Ollivander suddenly appeared from behind a shelf but looked a little surprised at the slightly blank look on his customers face, “My Potter, I was wondering when you would be in.” he commented mildly and Harry nodded absently, instead of waiting for the man to go through his usual trial and error method of wand placement, Harry cast his eyes around the shelves, searching for a particular aura that called to his magical core, “Is there something the matter lad?” the old man asked finally and Harry shook his head slightly and focussed on the man’s face.  
“Over there.” He said mildly, pointing to the shelf where he could sense his wand. Both of his souls had joined as they searched, both feeling the resonances deep within.   
Ollivander frowned slightly and looked between the boy at his counter and the shelf he indicated. It wasn’t often that he had a customer that pointed out his own wand, after all the wand choses the wizard, not the other way around. Feeling slightly curious, the old man waved the boy around the counter and gestured for him to proceed, after all, if he chose the wrong wand, there wouldn’t be any harm done.  
Harry ignored the man, and just followed the silent call in his mind;

“There, on the second shelf. That black box, do you see it?”

Harry nodded absently and reached up to lift down the box, not really taking note of the gasp from the old man behind him. Opening the wand case, he lifted out the polished length of wood and smiled as warmth spread through his arm and into his mind. Turning to the store owner, who was staring at him like a stranded fish, Harry gazed at him levelly, his expression completely blank.  
The old man must have read something in his eyes, for his face went grave and he gave a short bow of acknowledgement, “Somehow I am not altogether surprised, Mr Potter.” Was all the comment he gave.  
“Brother to thine enemy.” Harry whispered, drawing another startled look from the store owner as he paid for his wand. Nodding in thanks, Harry left the shop, not even noticing the slight awe in the old man’s eyes as he watched him leave.  
The last place that Hagrid took him was the owl emporium, for which Harry was extremely pleased. The man offered to buy him a pet as an early Birthday present and Harry knew just the one he was looking for.  
Entering the slightly dim shop, he looked around at the rows of perches and searched through the feathered occupants looking for one bird in particular. A flash of white caught his eye and he grinned in delight as he saw the familiar snowy owl sitting off to one side, surveying the rest of the owls regally.   
Walking up to her, Harry held out his hand, “Come on girl, would you like to come with me?”  
A voice came from behind him and Harry turned his head to see the woman who ran the shop coming up to him, “She is a pretty thing, lad, but I think you should choose another for your pet. She doesn’t really take well to people…” the woman cut off in amazement as the owl stretched her wings and lofted gracefully over to perch on Harry’s wrist, “But then again,” she continued, a rueful look on her face, “It looks as though she has taken a liking to you.”   
Hagrid heartily approved of his choice and it wasn’t long until they were back on the train heading back to Little Whinging with Harry’s shrunken parcels placed carefully in his pocket and Hedwig, in her cage sitting firmly beside him.  
“So, did yeh have fun today Harry?” Hagrid asked him and Harry grinned up at him.  
“Definitely. Say, Hagrid, will I get to see you at school as well?”  
The huge man chuckled and clapped him on the shoulder, “Course yeh will lad, by the way, ere’s yeh ticket fer the school train.” He handed over the slip of paper and Harry tucked it carefully into his pocket.  
The rest of the trip, Harry bombarded Hagrid with questions, much to the amusement of his older soul, he found he liked the huge man just as his other self had and he asked everything and anything he could think of just for the chance to continue speaking to the man whom was, essentially, the first true friend he’d had, in either life time (Not counting each other of course.)  
By the time they reached his aunt and uncles house, Hagrid and Harry had become fast friends, again, and as Hagrid bid him farewell he promised to call him down to tea once school started up again.  
Grinning happily to himself, Harry pushed open the door and went inside, full intent on going through his new possessions and working through what he still had to get.  
He got as far as the living room where he was ambushed by an irate Uncle Vernon and an indignant Aunt Petunia.  
“And just where have you been all day, Boy.” His Uncle demanded and Harry stared at him blankly, his mind not really catching up with what was going on.  
“Huh?” was all he was able to utter before he was shoved onto the couch, his Uncle towering over him. He could see Dudley off to one side watching, a look of glee on his fat face.  
“Well boy, start explaining. Where the hell have you been?”  
Harry blinked at him then actually grinned, much to his uncles shock, “Really Uncle Vernon,” he said mildly, “I don’t think you want to know the answer to that question. After all, any mention of magic causes you some distress.” He watched in fascination as his uncles face went purple and he found it extremely hard to be intimidated with the spirit snickering in the back of his head.  
Vernon Dursley glared down at him furiously then opened his mouth to deliver a rather scathing lecture, “Now see here boy, we will not tolerate your freakish ways in our house. One more mention of unnatural powers out of your mouth and you will be lucky to see daylight this side of the end of summer. As to you attending this crackpot magic school, if you think you are actually going, you have another thing coming. You will attend the school I have chosen for you and be grateful for it, while you remain under my room, you will obey my laws. If it weren’t for your ungrateful parents and their freakish ways, we wouldn’t have been saddled with you to begin with…”  
Unfortunately, as he continued to rave, Harry was less and less impressed. As soon as he made mention of his parents, his green eyes flashed a warning that only Aunt Petunia saw. Harry saw her trying to calm Vernon down without actually turning his ire on her but he really didn’t care. This ignorant muggle would end up getting his family killed later on, just for his stubborn refusal to see anything past his own nose.  
Completely ignoring whatever his uncle was still shouting about, Harry took firm control of his magic, both his souls merging in an effort to remain in control. After all, it wouldn’t do to have a warning from the ministry before he even started school.  
Once he felt he wasn’t going to explode anything, he drew himself carefully to his feet and met his Uncles shocked gaze with flashing green eyes.  
“I’ll say one thing, Uncle Vernon, and that is to back down. All my life you have tried to stamp out the heritage within me that is all I have left of my family, well I have to tell you now, you failed. From what I have learned today and from the letter Professor Dumbledore left for me, I would say that you have little or no say over my life from this point onwards. It is not your roof I am bound to stay under, but Aunt Petunia’s. The wards on this place are keyed to our bloodline link. I would think about that if I were you. If things were to go badly with the creature that killed my family, and he comes after me again, those wards will not protect you outside of these walls.” He turned his cold gaze to his aunt who almost cowered away from him at the expression in his eyes, “Everything has changed.” He told her softly, “You can no longer keep your head in the sand if you want to survive what is coming.”   
Her face went pale and Harry nodded sharply to her as he walked past and up the stairs. He didn’t care if they had given him the other room yet or not, he was taking it. There wasn’t enough space in the cupboard under the stairs and he needed room to prepare things.   
He heard his uncle regain his breath after he left the room and turn on his wife, demanding to know what the boy was talking about. Harry simply ignored it all. Going to the door of the room that usually contained Dudley’s collection of broken toys and other gifts he had abandoned over the years he pushed it open and was pleased to find the room empty. It looked as though Aunt Petunia had planned on shifting him up here anyway, even if Uncle Vernon hadn’t agreed.  
Shutting the door firmly behind him, he placed Hedwig’s cage on the empty desk then reached into his pocket to retrieve the collection of shrunken parcels he had bought that morning. Setting them on the desk, he took out his wand and the first thing he enlarged was the large floor perch he had bought for his owl. Setting it up in the corner by the window, Harry unlatched the cage and lifted his friend out and set her on the polished branch. She had been his constant companion since he was eleven and there was no way he was going to allow her to be kept in a cage unless it was absolutely necessary. “There you are, girl.” He whispered to her, scratching at her breast feathers, “You can come and go as you please, just don’t bring in any mice or Aunt Petunia will fetch a fit.”  
Turning back to the rest of the parcels, he felt a slight twist in his mind and suddenly the older version of himself was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was still transparent and still dressed in tattered robes, but he looked less tired then the last time round, “I didn’t know you could separate from me like that.” Harry commented mildly, the spirit shrugged;

“I haven’t, really. This is just a projection of me. Doesn’t feel so much like I am talking to myself this way.”

Harry laughed and tapped the other parcels, bringing them back to their original size. “So, what other things do you think we need to take care of before start of school? We have a whole month before start of term with no one keeping a close watch on us. From what you have shown me, once we get to Hogwarts, it is going to be harder to accomplish anything without being noticed.”

“You’re right there. Mainly we need to organise things with Gringotts. Getting the house back into a liveable condition should be one of our priorities. That will give us a backup home if things go wrong. Anyway, I would like to get out of here as soon as possible, to protect them. If we are not here, then there will be no reason for the Deatheaters to even find this place. After all once we sever contact, they will have no reason to suspect we have anything to do with the Dursleys.”

Harry nodded, sliding his newly enlarged trunk to the foot of his bed, then reaching for the parcel that contained his robes, “I agree with you there.” He commented absently, tapping the paper wrapped parcel and watching in fascination as it grew in his hands, “After all, it isn’t like I’m on my own in this. It would be a different matter if I didn’t have you here, but what I don’t know, you more then make up for.” He glanced over a the spirit and saw him lean back on his hands on the bed;

“The only problems we are going to have are going to be from the ministry and Dumbledore. After all, having The Boy Who Lived, living on his own at the age of eleven isn’t exactly good publicity.”  
Harry snorted as he shook out his new robes and hung them in the wardrobe, “Then I think springing Sirius is another high priority.”

A fierce look crossed the older Harry’s face, mirrored by his younger counterpart, “I think we are both agreed on that point.”

Looking over all the things that Harry was unshrinking, the spirit grinned ruefully, shaking off the jumble of emotions at the thought of Sirius still in Azkaban.  
“You certainly went all out this trip didn’t you.” He laughed as Harry hung up a couple of posters on the wall, all properly moving, as befitting the room of a young wizard.   
Harry shrugged, a sheepish grin on his face, “May as well make the place interesting. I mean, now I know what is going on, I don’t have to listen to the muggles at all and with you to talk to there isn’t much point in trying to make them at least tolerate me. So I may as well make this place into somewhere I can actually stand to spend any time.”  
The spirit chuckled and Harry smiled slightly as the thoughts of the other floated through his mind as well, images of this same room, of being locked in without proper food, of Hedwig being locked in her cage, bars closing off the small window. All the old images being blunted by the moving posters of Quidditch teams on the walls, the happy white owl in the corner perched on an open branch, her cage stored in the wardrobe. Even the school trunk on the floor at the foot of the bed emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest;

“You know youngster, I think I like it better this way as well.” His counterpart finally commented, a huge grin on his haggard face


	5. Return To Diagon Alley

  
Author's notes: Harry's rather, er, unsactioned return to Diagon Alley for extracaricular items. (heh heh)  


* * *

AN/ Huh, it looks as though the italics and bold int he text haven't worked. Bare with me until I work out how to fix things, in the mean time I hopw it is not too confusing.

Chapter 5:

Return to Diagon Alley

Both Harry and the spirit glanced up in surprise as there came a knock at the bedroom door and the spirit faded out as Harry went to open it. His Aunt stood on the other side, her determined gaze wavering slightly as she caught sight of the new decorations. She flinched as she noticed the moving posters then flinched again as she met Harry’s gaze, her face going blank as she gathered herself. “Dinners ready.” She ground out harshly and Harry raised an eyebrow, wondering what she had originally been meaning to say, considering they normally just shouted at him when meals were ready.  
Nodding sharply, she turned and headed back down the stairs, carefully not looking through his door again and Harry snickered, closing the door behind him as he followed her;

“Why do I think that I am not going to have to worry about her cleaning in there any time soon?” he asked rhetorically and the spirit snorted in agreement.

As he entered the kitchen he noted the glare he received from his Uncle and the uncertain look from his cousin and mentally shook his head. They obviously didn’t know how to react to him after his outburst earlier, not that he could really blame them, considering how many years he had taken their abuse without more than a token complaint.   
He took his seat at the table and nodded absently in thanks as his Aunt handed him his plate, completely ignoring the rather strained conversation going on around him he turned has attention to other matters;

“So what are your plans next?” he asked, putting his body on autopilot.

“First things first we are going to have to gain access to the family vault. We need the deed to the house as well as some of the other paperwork that Dad had stored there.”

Harry frowned in thought, earning a sharp question from his Uncle, which he ignored, “So how are we going to do that? If the vault is only accessible once I reach seventeen, there is no chance they will allow me to get my hands on that paperwork.”

The spirit snorted, “There are a few loopholes around that. When I worked with the Goblins I picked up on a few things of how matters are handled within the bank. True, by wizarding law you have to be seventeen before you are declared legally independent enough to handle your own assets, but in the case of the family vault, things are a little different. Normally a parent would be the one to decide when a child is ready to be trusted with access to the full vault, hence the smaller ones set up for student access. Mum and Dad had ours set up just after we were born, but the thing is, they never stipulated how old we would have to be before we gained access to the rest. Normally it would be up to our guardian to decide, considering the money is supposed to be kept in trust but seeing as the Goblins do not have a high opinion of Muggles it will make things easier.”

“I hope you are planning on taking control this time. There is no way I would be able to keep up with all of the information I can see running through your mind.”

The spirit chuckled, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it once it becomes necessary. Now finish eating, then we can get moving.”

Harry turned his attention back to his meal and once he had finished, he left the table without asking, put his plate in the sink then headed up to his room, snickering to himself at the stunned silence in his wake.

“You know, you are going to get us in trouble doing things like that.” The spirit commented mildly, Harry just snorted;

“I don’t see you complaining.”

“No, I suppose not. We might want to wait a bit before heading out though. We don’t really need to stir things too much by heading out of the house after dark without permission. Gringotts is open all hours and the other places we need to visit normally don’t open until sunset anyway so we can wait until the muggles are asleep.”

Taking up one of the books he had brought that morning, Harry lounged back on his bed and started reading through it, figuring that seeing as they had the time he may as well get some study in. Interestingly enough, the spirit merged his mind with his as well as he read, both of them studying the material and he could read the reason in their combined thoughts. It had been a long time since the spirit had studied the theory behind most of the spells he knew and it would be beneficial to both of them to have a fresh knowledge of everything they were likely to need.   
They also worked out another useful point; with both minds working together they managed to review the background theory but in the back of their mind was the spirit’s experience, resulting in a deeper understanding of the subject matter. A situation that was rather a delight to the younger Harry.

“This is certainly a better way to study.” He mused, putting the book to one side after they had been studying for around an hour and the silence out in the hall proved that the muggles had gone to bed, “It is like I have a tutor in the back of my head.

The spirit chuckled in amusement and sent his projection to sit on the bed beside him. Leaning back against the wall, he looked down at the cover of the book then blinked as a thought came to him, “You know, I think I just managed to come up with an idea to get around the underage magic restriction.” He mused.

Harry turned to him in excitement, “How? If we could manage that, it would mean we could get in some proper practice. After all, you did mention that there might be some interesting side effects to our merger. I would think it would be rather important to have at least an idea of what has changed.”

“I know, that was why I was trying to think of a way around it.” the spirit mused thoughtfully, staring down at the book as if the transfiguration text held all the answers, “Somehow I think that if we managed to blow up the classroom in the process of a minor spell, the headmaster might become a little suspicious. My magical levels at age eleven were nothing real spectacular to begin with. That all came later.”

Harry skidded off the edge of the bed and slipped over to the door to peak out into the hall. The house beyond was dark, confirming that they were the only ones awake, the snores of his Uncle and Cousin the only sounds in the hall. Turning back, he sat at his desk and turned his attention to the transparent figure sitting on his bed, “So what is your idea then?” he asked.

Looking up at him, a mischievous grin spread across the spirit’s face, “Tell me Harry, have you ever had a tutor before?” Harry blinked at the question, not sure where it had come from; but before he could answer the spirit continued, “The only exception to the underage magic laws is if the student is under the supervision of a magic tutor. Many of the pureblood families, the rich ones anyway, hire tutors for their children for before they head off to school and to keep their education up over the holidays when they are at home. If the student is under the hand of a registered tutor, then the law no longer applies.”

He raised an eyebrow and Harry gave an incredulous laugh, “You mean that you are going to register as my tutor? How in the world are you going to pull that off?”   
The grin on the other’s face grew to the point were it could almost be called evil, “Simple.” He answered, “The registration forms and testing for a tutor does not have to be filled out at the ministry, you have them sent to you. The papers are charmed to read your magical signature then you take the tests, designed to ascertain your level of knowledge. Once you register, your magical signature is recorded as well as that of your student, that way the tracking charms that are used to keep an eye on students are bypassed; as long as your magical signal corresponds with mine, meaning we are in close proximity.”

Harry blinked at him for a moment, then frowned slightly, “Hang on, that wouldn’t work. I mean, isn’t your magical signal the same as mine? After all you are me, and besides, you reside within my body so we will be using the same source.”

The spirit laughed outright and sat forward, leaning his elbows on his knees, “That is a very good observation.” He chuckled, “But there is a way around that as well.” He grinned again, a twinkle coming to his eye that looked positively devilish, “I know how to alter my magical signature. I learnt years ago how to do it in order to avoid magical detection during the war. I wouldn’t even have to change it that much but I should be able to shift things enough that we will read as having two separate signatures with just enough difference between us that any similarities will be passed off as your tutor’s influence on you. And seeing as though there is no way to separate us,” He raised an eyebrow suggestively and Harry laughed, seeing what he was getting at;

“In other words, I’ll always be tracked as being with my tutor.”

The spirit nodded, a look of great satisfaction of his face, “Which means, as far as the monitoring charms are concerned, we will be invisible. Not only that, but once we are on the train to school I can shift things back again so Dumbledore doesn’t pick up of the double signature. That way we can use magic outside of school and no one will even notice.”

Looking over at the clock on their nightstand, the spirit sighed and slipped off the bed;

“I suppose we had better get going if we are to get back before midnight.” He mused. His form shimmered slightly and faded and once again his voice came from the back of Harry’s mind, “Dress in one of the school robes but reverse it to hide the crest.” He advised.

Harry did as instructed, pulling the black robe over his head and pulling up the hood before tying on his shoes. Once he slipped his wand into his sleeve, he released Hedwig out the window then crept to the door of his room. The sounds of three different sets of snores reassured him that the muggles were asleep so he crept down the stairs, being careful not to let any of them creak.  
Once he slipped out the front door and closed it softly behind him, he took a deep breath of the clear night air and grinned;

“So, where to now?”

The spirit chuckled, “Simple my friend. We are going to catch the Knight Bus. But I think we should head a few streets over first. There are a few people around here who can actually see the thing, Mrs Figg being one of them and I would rather no one picked up on us travelling at this time of night, using a mode of transportation we shouldn’t know exists.”

Harry readily agreed and set off at a fast walk, feeling the excitement build in his stomach. Thanks to the spirits memories, he knew what he was getting himself into, but for some reason it didn’t concern him as much as he thought it should. The constant presence in the back of his mind let him set his fears to one side. He knew that some of the things they would be getting into would be dangerous but he also knew that he wouldn’t be going through any of it alone.  
Once he reached a fair distance from his house, the spirit instructed him to hold out his wand and then stand back as a loud crack echoed up and down the street and the violently purple three-decker bus swerved up onto the sidewalk where he had been standing.  
As the door opened, Harry pulled the hood of his robes further down to shadow his face and nodded politely as the conductor introduced himself and gestured for him to climb aboard. 

“Stan must be still in school.” The spirit mused as Harry chose one of the bedsteads and sat down on the edge of it. Looking over at the young conductor he snorted, “Not that it really matters. This kid is exactly the same.” Harry could see in the others mind a picture of another young man in the same conductors uniform and he had to smile in agreement, the two of them were definitely cut from the same cloth.

“Where to, sir?” the conductor asked in his slightly nasal voice. Harry kept his head lowered slightly to keep his face covered and he answered in a slightly rough whisper at the spirit’s suggestion, “Diagon Alley.”   
The conductor nodded and gave up trying to see his face, instead turning back to the paper he had been reading before Harry had flagged the bus down. 

“First place we need to head to is Gringotts.” The spirit mused thoughtfully, “We are going to need to get that paperwork, the sooner the better. Then we’ll need to head over to Knockturn Alley. Some of the potion ingredients we’re going to need to put into stock are ones that aren’t sold at the regular apothecary.” 

“I thought you hated potions,” Harry observed, absently gripping the bedpost as the Knight Bus made one of it’s trademark lurching turns, “Why all this insistence on setting in an ingredients store?”

The spirit chuckled ruefully and sighed, “Truth of the matter is,” he answered, “The reason I dislike potions so much was because of that overgrown bat. Having him standing over your shoulder is a guaranteed recipe for failure. After he killed the headmaster,” he choked a little over the words and Harry felt the surge of his anger and grief, still so fresh even after all the years since the incident, “Hermione suggested we should raid the dungeons before we set out on our own.” His voice was slightly rough as he pulled himself together, “She always was the one to think ahead. Anyway, in Snape’s office we came across not only a large store of some very useful potions but a bunch of books the man had written.” The spirit snorted and Harry bit back a chuckle at the rueful feeling he was getting from his other soul, “No matter what else the Git was, he was certainly a Master when it came to Potions. The books he wrote were brilliant and some of those recipes saved my life more then once. Not only that, but without Professor Sinister breathing down my neck, I turned out pretty good at Potion making after all.” 

The bus lurched again and screeched to a stop, the conductor called out, not even looking up form his paper, “Diagon Alley, London.”  
Scrambling to his feet, Harry hurriedly paid the young man then slipped off the bus, the doors almost closing on the hem of his robs before it disappeared again with a loud bang.  
Looking up at the faded sign of The Leaky Cauldron, Harry took a deep breath and tugged at his hood, making sure his face stayed shadowed;

“Well, here we go then.” He muttered. He felt a faint nudge at his mind and he relinquished control to the spirit was a sigh of relief. In this situation it was better to use the other’s experience.

Pushing open the door, Harry entered the dim pub and looked around. This late a night, the pub was all but deserted. Tom still stood in his customary place behind the bar, but no one gave him more then a brief glance before going back to their own business. After all, wrapped in black robes as he was, coupled with his slight size, he could be mistaken for a goblin and you had to be stupid to mess with a goblin.  
Passing silently through the pub, he slipped out into the back courtyard and tapped out the sequence on the bricks that would allow him access to Diagon Alley.   
The street beyond was quiet and most of the shops had awnings drawn down over their fronts for the night. Slipping quietly along the street, Harry kept a sharp watch around him as he kept his robes pulled close to his body, his hand clutching his wand in his sleeve. Diagon Alley may be a fairly safe place during the day, owing to the number of wizards and witches frequenting the place, but Harry was well aware that no where was truly safe. He knew that at this point in time, with Voldemort still a fragile wraith, the threat was nearly non existent but with Knockturn Alley so close there was always the chance of running into some of the less then savoury characters that haunted the area. He was also well aware what sort of prize his life would represent to Voldemorts followers if they were to get their hands on him.  
The few other figures he encountered were as shrouded as he was and all of them studiously ignored all others they passed, walking swiftly, their heads bowed keeping their faces in shadow.   
Reaching the huge white building at the end of the long, twisted street, Harry bowed politely to the guards then slipped through the doors, blinking in the bright light of the interior.

“So where do we go now?” the younger soul asked from the back of his mind and Harry nodded in the direction of a gilded door off to one side of the main counter;

“Through there. The vault manager we need to talk to is called Grapel, he’s one of the higher ranking goblins here. I am going to have to work this carefully to get his co-operation, otherwise we are going to have trouble.”

Heading over to the door he had indicated, Harry squared his shoulders then pushed through, firming his stride, as if he had every right to be there.  
The goblin sitting at the desk in the small room raised his ugly face as he entered and scowled at him but before he could speak, Harry swept off his hood then bent at the waist into a low bow, almost touching his nose to his knees. “Honourable Grapel. Forgive this interruption, but I have come to request a moment of your valuable time to discuss matters concerning my family’s wealth placed under your capable care.” There was moment of shocked silence and Harry almost grinned to himself, he had not only given the Goblin an official greeting but had given him the proper title for his position and had also shown he knew how Goblin courtesy worked. He glanced up and caught the faintly curious look that had replaced the scowl on the Goblin’s face.  
“If you could inform me of your name, esteemed client, then perhaps we could discuss what has brought you here.”  
At that sentence, Harry felt some of his tension drain out. He had earned at least a small amount of respect from the Goblin, meaning that perhaps this wasn’t going to be as difficult as he had feared. Straightening up from his bow, Harry nodded politely, “My name is Harry James Potter, Honourable keeper of my vault. It has come to my attention recently some interesting facts about my inheritance were kept from me and I wanted to go over a few things with you to remedy this over sight.”  
The Goblin’s face became even more intrigued and he waved Harry into the seat facing his desk. “What, pray tell, can I help you with in this endeavour Mr Potter?” he asked gravely.  
Harry sat forward on his chair, giving the Goblin the gift of his full attention, something the creatures were very serious about, especially if it was a business meeting.   
“It has recently been revealed to me that in addition to the private vault I have been given access to in order to cover my school expenses, the Potter family vault is being held in trust until I reach age of majority.”  
Grapel tapped the large ledger on the corner of his desk and the book shuffled open on its own the reveal a page of details, the name Potter emblazoned across the top. “That is correct, Mr Potter. It is written here that on the advice of the minister of magic and the headmaster of Hogwarts School of witchcraft and wizardry that the vault and all its contents remain in secret trust until you reach the age of seventeen.”  
Harry felt a surge of irritation even though he knew that it had been done. As much as he loved the old headmaster, his manipulations had become a great source of tension between them, even after the old man’s death. Pushing the annoyance aside, Harry nodded once, gravely, “I had found out as much. What I wanted to discuss with you was turning control of the vault over to me. As I understand it, as the soul living heir of the Potter estate, that vault is mine and unless my parents stipulated in their will that it was to be held until I reach a certain age, of which I doubt, then the minister and the headmaster do not have the right to deny me access to the assets of my family.”  
Grapel looked faintly impressed that he knew as much as he did on how the bank worked, “That is also correct, Mr Potter, and as you surmised, your parents did not leave instructions of placing their assets in trust. Usually, in situations like this, the legal guardian of the child holds control over the vault until such time as the child is considered mature enough to take over.”  
Harry gave a half smile, “But my legal guardian is in prison. And the people whose care I am under are muggles whom have nothing to do with the Potter family except through the blood tie to my mother. I have studied a few points of wizard law recently in an effort to understand a few things and as far as I can see, as there is no other instructions to the contrary from my parents, whom after all had full control over all distribution of their estates, then I am entitled to full control of my own assets.”  
Harry could see the respect in the Goblins eyes as he spoke and he almost sighed in relief. He had spoken to the creature in his own timeline after he had turned seventeen and found out about the rest of his inheritance. The Goblin had been more then annoyed with the manipulations of interfering wizards and Harry had been placing his hope on the fact that the Goblin would be glad to assist him, if only to straighten out a situation that his mind told him was wrong. The Goblins were fiercely protective of the wealth placed into their care and the fact that two of the most influential wizards had sealed one of the vaults from its rightful owner had rankled him for a long time.  
Grapel nodded gravely, “Very well, Mr Potter. I can see that you are more then knowledgeable enough to handle your own affairs. If you would wait for a moment, I will have the necessary arrangements taken care of to turn full control of the Potter estates over into your hands.”  
Harry rose and bowed low to the Goblin, Grapel echoing the gesture before rushing from the room;

“That certainly seemed to go well.” His younger self commented from the back of his mind, “I didn’t know that the creatures were so formal. Do you think that he will inform the Headmaster about all this? I mean, he did say Dumbledore was one of the ones to place the restriction on the vault to begin with.”

“There is no reason to be concerned about that.” He reassured him, “After the vault is turned over to our control, all matters pertaining to it is strictly confidential. The Headmaster and the Minister will only know if we tell them.”

A moment later Grapel re-entered the office a serious look on his face. Placing what looked like a gold tablet on his desk his pulled himself up and announced gravely, “Mr Harry James Potter, soul heir of the Potter estates and assets, please place your right hand on the tablet to transfer control of said assets over to you as rightful holder.”   
Harry did as instructed and blinked at the blinding flash of light the tablet gave off as he placed his palm on the faintly warm surface. As the spots cleared from his eyes he found himself holding a large gold key, “Congratulations Mr Potter.” Grapel told him softly, a faint glow of satisfaction in his eyes, “You now have soul control over all Potter estates.”  
This time the Goblin bowed to him and Harry bowed only his head in response, the change in their demeanour indicating that Grapel was now officially working for Harry and Mr Potter was now one of the Goblins honoured clients.   
Leading him from the office, Grapel waved over another Goblin and nodded gravely to Harry before disappearing back into his office and Harry turned to his guide. The small creature didn’t speak to him, just bowed low in respect and indicted for him to follow;

“Is this how they treat all customers? The Goblins we spoke to when Hagrid brought us here weren’t nearly so polite.”

Harry chuckled silently, “No, this is how honoured clients are treated. There are not many wizards that are considered as such. After all they treat the Goblins as rather touchy servants. By treating Grapel with respect, we have earned his in return. If we need anything that is within his power to provide, he will not hesitate to aid us from here on out.”

The small goblin led them, not to the carts that led to the regular vaults, but to a huge elevator off to one side. Running his hand down the door, the Goblin motioned politely for Harry to proceed him as the door slid smoothly open. There were a number of buttons in the lift, each one labelled in the goblin language and as soon as the doors slid shut the guide pressed one of the buttons and Harry felt his stomach drop into his feet as they plummeted down into the deeper depths of Gringotts. He was well aware of the fact that the family vaults of the pureblood wizard families were stored deep beneath the main bank in the section guarded by dragons along with other even nastier surprises for anyone who managed to get that for that had no reason to be there.

His younger spirit exclaimed in shock as that thought flitted through his mind, “There are actually dragons here? Real ones?”

Harry was hard pressed not to laugh aloud, “Yes there are dragons here. And before you ask, yes you will get to see one eventually, but not today. The ones they have here on guard duty are not the most tolerant of their kind and battling with a dragon is not my idea of a good way to spend our time at the moment.”

His younger self sighed in agreement but regret was plain and Harry had to suppress another chuckle as the life came to an abrupt halt. Again, the goblin didn’t speak just motioned for him to follow and let the way down a well lit corridor that held the huge doors of the vaults that contained the wealth of some of the oldest and most powerful pureblood wizarding families.  
Eventually they stopped in front of a door about half way down. Instead of the numbers that labelled the upper vaults, these were emblazoned with the name of the family that owned them and Harry gazed up at the gold lettering of his surname etched deeply into the door. Stepping forward, he slipped his key into the lock then placed his hand on the identification plate beside it. Whispering his name, he watched as the plate shimmered then the door swung silently inwards. The Goblin did not follow him in. After all, it was their job to protect the treasure in their care but not from the rightful owner.   
Harry stepped into the huge vault and glanced around, shocked all over again at the sheer amount of gold in there. There were also a few numerous personal objects like a box of old toys someone had rescued from the ruin of Godrics Hollow, a few trophies from his parents time at school but what he was looking for was contained in a small, polished chest right up against the back wall. As he walked through the piles of coins he could feel the shock coming from his younger self;

“I have never seen so much money in my entire life.” He whispered, then sorrow came from him and Harry bit his lip, well acquainted with the emotion, “I wish they were here.” 

Harry didn’t answer, knowing his other self would feel his complete agreement to his faint wish. He made his way over to where the chest rested against the wall and silently picked it up. All of his parents papers were contained within and he knew for a fact that there was nothing in here that had been tampered with. The wards on the chest had been put into place before his parents had died and their death had triggered them. Once the wards were tripped, no one but Harry would be able to touch the chest. The repelling charms on it made it impossible to handle and the locking charms could not be opened by anyone but him.  
Taking the chest with him, he left the vault, nodding for the goblin to close it behind him and without a word they headed back up into the main foyer. Grapel met them at the door as soon as the lift opened and he bowed low once again, “If there is anything else you need Mr Potter let me know. Gringotts is at your disposal.”  
Harry nodded gravely, “Thank you Grapel, you have been of great assistance. Once I have had a chance to go over my parents papers, I assure you I will be seeking your expertise once again.” They exchanged bows once again and went about their respective business, Grapel to his office, Harry back out into Diagon Alley, pulling his hood down low over his face once again.  
The journey to Knockturn Alley was a tense one, Harry having to fight with his highly nervous reactions, constantly reminding himself that he wasn’t in the middle of a war. The likelihood of someone jumping out of the shadows to kill him was remote, even here in the middle of the night. As it was he remained on high alert, his wand clutched in his hand and hidden within the folds of his sleeve.  
The store he was looking for was in an out of the way corner, dark and dry with the horrid mix of smells that only an apothecary can produce. Slipping silently into the dim little shop, Harry nodded gravely to the wrinkled little wizard behind the counter who stared at him suspiciously with watery eyes.   
“What the hell do you want?” the man all but barked at him and Harry ignored the man’s tone, the little wizard had always been a sour old thing.  
“I am after some supplies. Ones the regular apothecary will not provide.” He answered, deepening his voice and adding a harsh rasp. It was surprisingly easy really, his rather high, eleven year old voice was dynamic enough for him to alter it without even having to resort to magic.  
In the end, he came out of the shop in possession of a fully stocked potions chest. The brilliant storage chest was no bigger then a child’s jewellery box but the inside was spelled with hundreds of compartments that snugly held the bottles and jars full of ingredients as well as a whole section devoted to completed potions.   
The more perishable items, such as dragons hearts and other organs were contained in specially spelled jars that prevented decay and he even had a store of phoenix feathers, unicorn blood and hair and even a jar of thestral claws, all of which the apothecary swore had been taken with the consent of the creatures. After all, if they were stolen they would be useless.  
After they left the Apothecary, Harry headed further in to a bookstore he had found many years ago. Flourish and Blotts had a marvellous collection of books, even a few bordering on illegal, but some of the reading material Harry was after went well beyond illegal.  
Rummaging through the shelves, completely ignoring the sour witch that kept a suspicious eye on him the entire time, he managed to come up with a collection of books that had been banned from public sale, many of which had been ordered burned and with good reason. He had a few books on the dark arts, not from a defensive point of view either, but they would give him a good insight into some of the spells and curses he had faced over the years. He also found a few potion books that might be of use as well as about a half a dozen books relating to past dark lords and the history of black magic in general.  
After paying for them, he slipped the books into the text book section of his potion chest. It was as good a place as any to keep them as the chest was spell locked so only he could open it, that way he prevented anyone from accidentally harming themselves with some of the more dangerous substances contained within that collection;

“So, what else do we have to get?” the younger spirit asked and Harry felt himself relax slightly. The other hadn’t spoken throughout his search, leaving him to concentrate on what they might need but he was grateful that he was there. As his younger spirit had thought earlier, neither one of them would go through any of this alone.

“I think we are pretty much done for tonight.” He said in answer to the other’s question, “But I was considering getting a pet snake as well. If there was one thing I learnt from old Snake Head it was the value of a spy. A snake would be perfect.”

The younger Harry actually laughed in delight, “Why not,” he chuckled, “Although that minor fact is going to convince people we are a Slytherin I hope you realise.”

Harry smirked as he made his way back out of Knockturn Alley, keeping half his mind on keeping a look out, “Not if no one sees it. Besides, being a Slytherin mightn’t be so bad. I mean it will give us more of a chance to torment Snape and that Git Malfoy.”

“I thought you were going to try to save the two of them this time round.”

Harry snorted, loudly, “That doesn’t mean I have to like them.”

Coming out into Diagon Alley, he slipped into the Owl Emporium, one of the few shops that remained open, no matter what the hour and made his way to the back of the shop where the snake tanks were. He was admiring the bright creatures when the shop keeper came up behind him, “Can I help you with anything sir?” she asked cheerfully.  
Harry glanced up and smiled at her knowing that all she could see of his face was from the bottom of his nose down, “Yes, I was wondering if I could purchase one of these beauties.” He gestured to the tank behind him.  
The saleswoman smiled at him and walked up to lift the top of the tank, “Was there any particular one you were looking at?” she asked.  
Harry peered through the glass and smiled as one particular one caught his eyes, “That one I think.” he pointed, “The pretty green one with the gold diamond on her head.”  
The saleswoman reached in to lift the creature out and held her out to Harry. The bright green snake was around the length of his arm and she regarded him with an intelligent and interested gaze.  
Reaching out Harry took her from the saleslady’s hands and smiled as the creature immediately wrapped herself around his arm, her head resting on the back of his wrist. “How much?” he asked.

“So, what do you think?” he asked his younger self as he left the emporium. The snake had shifted her position so she was under the sleeve of his robe but was still wrapped around his arm. It seemed to be her favourite position.

“She is lovely, what is her name?”

“How about we find out?” lifting his sleeve slightly, he held his arm up to look his new pet in the eye, being careful not to drop the potions chest, *So, pretty one,* he hissed at her, *What are we to call you?* The snake blinked at him in surprise, her tongue flickering nervously as she raised her body up to get a better look at her new master.

*You speak?* She hissed at him, she nodded in satisfaction, *This is good. You may call this one Tabitha.*

Harry smiled and stroked the top of her head, much to the snake’s obvious delight, *Tabitha it is then.*   
Tucking his new possessions under his robe and making sure his new pet was well hidden, Harry made his way back through the Leaky Cauldron then out into London to summon the Knight Bus to take him back to Privet Drive.


	6. Complications and Plans

  
Author's notes: fate throws a curve ball  


* * *

Chapter 6

Complications and Plans

With a hiss of rage the disembodied spirit seized control of the mind it found itself inhabiting and completely absorbed the resident soul. Swearing sulphurously he skimmed the most recent thoughts of his new mind then stuttered to a stop in shock. Blinking in disbelief he investigated further and found other sensations that were familiar. The feeling of utter weakness, the frustration of living off another and the link that connected him to the current creature that did his bidding. It had been many years since he had felt the sensations of the parasitic mind link he had shared with that idiotic young fool Quirrell, but he remembered it well and feeling it once more it began to occur to him that something had happened when the boy had killed them both, something neither of them had expected. Somehow he had been sent back and as his mind skimmed over all the implications of what was happening an evil mental grin began to form. If he had been sent back there was only one person he could think of that was responsible, meaning the other was here as well. He would have to be cautious because in the state he was in he would be no match for the brat, no matter what form he took, but soon; oh yes soon, “Soon Harry Potter, I shall have you within my grasp, and this time…” 

Harry lurched out of a deep sleep screaming, visions of torture and death echoing in his mind as his two consciousness’s jumbled in confusion from a nightmare born from old memories and new fears. From down the hall he heard his uncle yelling for him to shut the hell up and he sat in his bed shivering in reaction as he regained control.  
“Damn.” He whispered, then flinched as a sharp stab of pain shot through his scar. The particular lurch in his mind came and he found himself staring into the haunted eyes of his older self;

“Are you alright Harry?” he muttered. Harry rubbed at his scar and sat back against the wall;

“Yeah I’m fine. Not the most pleasant of nightmares though.”

The older spirit snorted softly, “Not far wrong. Sorry about that. I thought I had managed to shield off the worst of those memories but it looks as though some of them are going to leak through regardless.”

Harry just shook his head tiredly, “Doesn’t matter.” He sighed then frowned, “What has me worried though is the pain in my scar. From what you showed me it wasn’t until the freak was resurrected that you had any trouble from that quarter unless he was real close to you.” 

The spirit frowned and rubbed at his own head reflectively, unconsciously echoing the movement of their shared body, “Tell you the truth I overlooked that.” He admitted ruefully, “I have lived with that pain for so long that it is odd when I don’t feel it. But now that you mention it, this can’t be good.

“What do you think is going on?” the spirit frowned in thought then shook his head, his face mirroring the concern Harry felt;

“I don’t know.” He answered finally, “I have a feeling that if Voldemort is pissed enough for us to feel it now, as weak as he is, then something is definitely wrong.”

With a grimace, Harry rubbed at his tired eyes then glanced over at the small clock beside his bed. Five thirty, “Not much use trying to go back to sleep.” He mused to himself, his other self giving a soft snort of agreement. Sliding off the bed he padded over to the dresser to a bundle of cloth sitting well back from the edge. It was one his daggy old shirts that he had inherited from his cousin bundled carefully up around a hot water bottle he had filched from the kitchen the night before. Touching the cloth mound, he found it still slightly warm and he gave a small smile at the soft grumble coming from the depths of the material. *Would you like to stay with me today?* he hissed softly. Somehow the revelation he could talk to snakes hadn’t really come as a big shock to him on top of everything else, so speaking to Tabitha seemed as natural as speaking to the spirit that still projected an image of himself sitting on the bed, a tolerant smile on his face. The cloth shifted slightly and a bright green head appeared, the golden diamond surmounting it glinting in the early morning light, *You are going out today?* she hissed at him curiously.   
*Once I have put a few things in order, yes.* she considered him for a moment the slipped her head back into her cocoon, *Then I will wait here until you are ready.*  
Chuckling at her independent streak, Harry padded over to his wardrobe and considered the new robes hanging neatly over the stack of his ragged muggle clothing, “You know, we should have gone shopping for muggle clothes yesterday as well.” he mused out loud.  
The spirit gave a rather noncommittal snort, “We can take care of that today.” He answered offhandedly, “First things first though, we should send Hedwig to the ministry for those tutor papers. Once that is out of the way then we can get down to the serious planning.”  
Harry nodded in agreement and pulled out a set of his ragged old clothes. Considering them for a moment, a rather wicked idea came to him and an evil grin spread across his face as he put them back then lifted down one of the plain robes he had brought the day before. The spirit snorted then full out laughed as he pulled the robes over his head then turned to face his projection, “You really are revelling in not having to cater to the muggles anymore, aren’t you.” He stated more then asked, his usually weary voice light with amusement for a change.   
Harry’s grin just got wider, “What do you expect?” the other shook his head, both of them knowing that the older version would have done the exact same thing if he had been given the chance at all. “So, what do we do to organise the paperwork.” Harry asked, slipping into the chair at his small desk. There was a slight twist in his mind and the others voice came from inside his head once more, “Take out a sheet of parchment and then let me take over to write out the request. I can make sure that the handwriting is different enough so as they will not get suspicious. Not that they are likely to notice anything but we need to be careful in case the headmaster starts to nose around once he gets wind of some of the things we are going to put into motion. I have the feeling that if he comes across the request forms and finds your handwriting on them then we are going to have some rather awkward questions to answer.”  
Humming in agreement, Harry slipped a sheet of parchment out of the drawer along with a quill and a bottle of ink then let his spirit slip back as the other took control.  
“We are going to inform the headmaster at one point, aren’t we?”  
Picking up the quill, Harry smoothed the parchment then laid out the careful request for tutor forms, half his mind on the conversation with his younger self, “I have a feeling that we will have to tell him eventually anyway.” He mused, “After all, it is not like we are going to be able to hide the fact that things are very different to what he expects. Once we move from here, I believe that he is going to go fishing for answers and quite frankly, I would rather he worked with us then tried to hinder us. If he jumps to the wrong conclusions we could end up being under house arrest for our own ‘protection.’”  
The younger spirit snorted in mild horror at that thought then ‘looked’ at what the other was writing, reading along with him as he went over his request.   
“So, do you think they will buy it?” he asked curiously as he rolled the parchment and secured it with a blue ribbon from his drawer.   
Harry considered the question as he tied the letter to Hedwig’s gravely extended leg. “I don’t see why not.” He answered as he launched the eager bird out the window, “The idiots that work for that department don’t really pay that much attention to the names listed on the forms at all, all they are interested in is if the magical signature that comes back to them on the application doesn’t match one of their underage wizard records.” He considered his own words for a moment then snorted, “Rather stupid system really, not that I’m complaining.”  
Walking over to the dresser, he lifted the shirt back and ran a finger down Tabitha’s bright green scales, smiling slightly as she arched her back in appreciation, *Are you ready to head out then, pretty one?* he hissed. The green reptile rubbed her head along his hand without comment and slid up under his long sleeve to wrap herself around his arm,   
“So, how about we go and see if we can scare Aunt Petunia into taking us clothes shopping?” his younger spirit chuckled in delight and the two of them merged their minds once again.   
Checking to make sure that his sleeve covered Tabitha completely, Harry opened his door then made his way down to the kitchen. Unusually, Aunt Petunia was up already and she and rummaging around in one of the cupboards. When she stood up with a frypan in her hands Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise, she wasn’t making his cook this morning?  
The pan never made it to the cooker however, for as she turned she caught sight of Harry and dropped it in shock as she took in his clothing, “What on earth are you wearing, boy?” she almost shrieked.   
Harry glanced down at his deep green and gold robes and held back a smirk, pasting a look of mild confusion on his face, “This is the best set of clothes that I own, Aunt Petunia, I brought them yesterday. I heard from the neighbours the other day that they were rather disgusted with what I wear, something about you and Uncle Vernon not having enough money to turn me out in decent clothing, even though it is your obligation to do so.” He held back a smirk with difficulty at the scandalous look that spread over her face, it was a low blow and he knew it, but frankly he couldn’t find it in himself to really care.  
A furious look came over his aunts face and he watched her curiously, wondering how she was going to get around the humiliation of being the talk of the neighbours and her inherent resistance of offering him anything that could possible be called decent. She finally scowled at him and snapped, “Go and get dressed in something normal and I shall take you to the shops. I cannot allow you to be seen in that get up.”   
Harry grinned to himself as he skipped up the stairs and followed her instructions, being careful to wear a long sleeved sweater that, like all of his hand me down clothes, was several sizes to large and stretched out of shape. He didn’t really care how the thing looked however, he was more concerned about making sure that Tabitha remained hidden.  
The trip into the city wasn’t really one he would be willing to duplicate, after all spending time with his aunt was not his idea of an ideal outing but he managed to make the best of it. After he managed to distract her looking at possible presents to buy her ‘Duddykins’ to make up for spending money on Harry, he slipped into the clothing department and picked out a few sets of more respectable clothing. Taking them to the cashier and adding the excess amount over what his aunt gave him out of his own pocket from some of the money he had exchanged his first trip into Diagon alley. The ride home was rather quiet and Harry felt he had actually accomplished a fair amount, he had even managed to chip away at her shields a bit more, to the point where she looked very thoughtful and kept throwing looks in his direction that were not her usual condescending sneers but considering and even a touch nervous.  
Hedwig was waiting for him when he skipped up to his room and he threw his packages onto his bed to eagerly retrieve the letter she held out for him. He gave the faint twist of his mind, separating his two halves as he opened the ministry sealed envelope,   
“You’re up I would say.”   
The spirit snorted and took over control. Closing his eyes, he concentrated and the younger Harry watched with interest as their merged magical aura, which he could see as a swirls of colours in his minds eyes, shifted slightly until the colours split, leaving two distinctive separate aura’s. if one looked closely enough it was possible to see they were one and the same but you would have to know what you were looking for.  
“Well, that is impressive.”  
The spirit snorted again and a smirk spread across their face, “The beauty of this trick is that it is one I came up with myself.” He commented in amusement, “So there is little chance of someone even considering the possibility that we changed it.”  
Laying the ministry application on the desk, he placed his hand on the parchment and let the magic from one side of their aura imprint on it. There was a faint flash of light and the lines on the parchment filled themselves out with flowing script, naming one ‘Mr Evan James’ as a registered tutor. Smirking, he lay his hand on the page again then used the other half of their aura and again the form filled itself out stating that Mr James was responsible for the magical tutoring of one Harry Potter.  
With a faint chuckle, he rolled the parchment then tapped it with his wand and it folded itself into a paper plane and flew out the window without further prompting.  
“Well that takes care of that. Within the hour we will be free to do any magic that we wish.”  
There came the faint twist again and the older Harry appeared on the bed once more and the younger sat back in his desk chair, “So, I suppose we should go through those papers to work out where to go from here.” He mused but he spirit shook his head,  
“Not much point really. I know what is in that box but I think the first thing we should do is contact Remus. Moony may have some ideas on how to get Sirius released and we really should find out what Dumbledore is up to at the moment. I have no idea what the Order was doing up until Voldy was actually reborn. I think we should find out exactly how active they are before we stumble into anything unprepared.”  
“Okay. Besides, we might want to see if there is any information he can gather for us. After all, with what happened this morning, something might have changed.”  
The spirit looked thoughtful for a moment then frowned lightly, “That might not be such a bad idea. The fact that we are able to sense the snake at this stage is disturbing. It might just be that we’re more sensitive to the connection after the merger, but I think it would be better to be cautious.”   
Sitting back at his desk, Harry drew another sheet of parchment out of his drawer and with the spirits prompting wrote out a carefully worded letter to one Remus J Lupin.  
After carefully sealing the message he tied it to Hedwig’s leg and carried her to the window, where with an affectionate nip at his fingers, she launched herself into the air.   
Watching her fly out of sight, a faint speck from the opposite direction drew his eyes, “What do you think that could be?” he asked.  
Even though the spirit was projecting an image of himself on the bed, he was still able to look out of Harry’s eyes and he gave the impression of a mental shrug, “My guess would be the reply from the ministry. That is the only owls we’re really expecting. The headmaster shouldn’t be contacting us yet so I don’t think there is any reason to be concerned.”  
Sure enough, the owl that flew through the window was one of the standard ministry ones and it waited around only long enough for Harry to relieve it of it’s delivery before launching out the window once more.  
Harry slipped his finger under the ministry seal and scanned through the letter, a pleased grin spreading across his face, “Well my new tutor,” he grinned over at the projection on the bed who had an echo of the same grin on his face as well, “What shall we do now that we are free from ministry supervision.”  
“Oh, I don’t know,” the other answered airily and his grin grew even wider, “I think we can come up with something suitable.”

Sitting wearily back in a faded, patched armchair Remus Lupin closed his eyes and let loose a sigh. It was only a week till the full moon and he was feeling the effects even now, despite having access to the potion that had been developed to help with his, ‘little problem.’ Chuckling at his own thoughts, he ran his hand through his silver streaked hair then looked around his sparse quarters in resignation. He had a week in which to come up with some way to convince his current employer not to fire him for being sick over the full moon. It was becoming increasingly difficult to receive employment as the wizarding community soon worked out his affliction, meaning there was no hope of meaningful employment there, and more often then not it was hazardous to try. Muggle employers on the other hand did not have the knowledge of their magical counterparts, so it was easier, not to mention safer, prospects there, but even muggles were only tolerant of absences to a certain point and after the first few necessary sick days, they started to become annoyed. His current employer was close to that point now. He had noticed that Lupin was becoming ill once again and he had been throwing rather irritated glances at him for the past few days and Remus knew it wouldn’t be long before he was respectfully asked to find other employment.  
Sighing once again, this time in resignation, he heaved himself to his feet and shuffled over to the window, propping it open more to let in more of the morning breeze. Before he turned away, his keep eyesight caught onto a snowy white owl flying low over the rooftops and he raised an eyebrow in curiosity. There were not that many wizarding folk in this area, and sure enough, as the bird drew closer, it was easy to work out that it was heading for his window. As it drew close, Remus stepped back from the window, clearing the way for the magnificent bird to ghost through to land on the back of his chair and tilt her head at him curiously.   
Studying her carefully for a moment, Remus was mildly impressed, she was a magnificent bird, “What can I do for you, lovely one?” he asked softly. She gave him a soft hoot and hopped forward slightly, holding out her leg and he caught sight of the letter ties to the ring on her ankle.   
Reaching out, he carefully relieved her of her burden but before studying the letter she had delivered he pulled a box of owl treats from one of his cupboards and handed one to her.  
While the owl ate, he flipped the letter over in his hands and raised his eyebrow. Across the front, in neat flowing script was written;

Mr R J Lupin  
Address unknown.

Reading that, he gave the owl on his chair a more respectful glance, she really was a magnificent bird, many post owls still required at least a general location in which to deliver a package, it was only some of the best that had good enough tracking senses to be able to find a person at an unknown location.  
Flipping the envelope, he broke the plain wax seal and unfolded the letter and nearly dropped it in shock as he read the message;

Dear Mr Lupin,

I am not sure how much you know of me, but I recently came across some information about my parents and your name came up in some of the paperwork. I was wondering if it would be possible to meet with you over the next few days to work out a few details. The goblins at Gringotts have allowed me access to my family’s assets and seeing as you are mentioned in some of my parents private papers, I thought perhaps you might be able to help me.  
Looking forward to hearing from you,

Sincerely  
Harry James Potter.

Sitting abruptly down in his chair, he stared at the signature for a full minute, his mind going numb, “Harry.” He thought to himself.  
Memories flashed through his mind of the small toddler, his messy black hair, those startling green eyes staring up at him, all of it overshadowed with a complex mix of pain, grief and old anger.  
Shaking his head, he gained control of his emotions and a sad smile spread across his face, “Well lad, it looks as though you have come into your own faster then we expected.” He read through the letter again and shook his head, “I wonder how he managed to talk the goblins into allowing him access after all the restrictions Albus and the ministry put down.”  
Looking up he found the owl studying him patiently and he smiled at her, “I suppose you are under instructions to await a reply.” He stated rhetorically, but to his mild surprise she bobbed her head at him, for all the world as if she understood his question. Shaking his head in bemusement, he reached for parchment and quill to answer the intriguing letter. “Well Harry, I would be very interested to hear what it is you have to say.” Signing the bottom of the parchment, he carefully folded it then handed the letter to the snowy bird, “Take this back to your master, if you would.” He told her as he carried her over to the window, “This should prove to be interesting.”  
Watching the bird fly out of sight he smiled to himself. It had been over ten years since he had seen the boy and in all that time he had come to miss him greatly but because of wizarding law and Dumbledore’s request, he had kept his distance from his best friends son. But now, Harry himself had contacted him and orders from Albus or no orders from Albus, there was no way he was going to ignore the request to meet him.

Enshrouding his mind in shadows, the entity known in hushed whispers as He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named, seethed to himself and planned. He blocked off the connection to his host in an effort to block out the chatter of the useless man’s inane thoughts and also to keep his plotting to himself. The original plan had been to use the man to sneak into Hogwarts and get hold of the Philosophers Stone that Dumbledore had hidden there. He had even attempted to get the thing while it was still in Gringotts, figuring that even the security at the bank would be easier to overcome then anything the craft old headmaster came up with once he was truly motivated but he knew already that plan would fail. After all, it already had. Instead he shifted his focus. With the possibility that Potter had retained his old memories just as he had, then there was the danger of the boy coming after him while he was very much venerable. He would have to find a way to protect the horcux’s to begin with, as Potter knew the location of them, meaning that in the very least they needed to be moved as soon as possible. He would also need to get rid of this host, he was too conspicuous. With subtle nudges at his hosts mind, he directed the man in search of a more suitable host and as he searched, not knowing that his life was forfeit once he found what his master was after, the entity in the back of his head plotted what his next move would be. All in all he was rather pleased with the situation, this would prove to be a worthy challenge. “Well Potter, lets see if you are able to protect those important to you when I know where all your weaknesses are.”

Sitting on his bed flipping through one of the more obscure books he had purchased in Knockturn Alley, Harry frowned and rubbed at his forehead as his scar throbbed lightly, “What on earth is that?”  
There was a vague sense of dread from the other spirit that shared his mind and he felt a slight chill run through him, “I’m not sure, Harry, but I have a feeling that something is very wrong.”


	7. Reunion and Revelation

  
Author's notes: Remus, Meet the new Harry  


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AN/ Hey everyone. I know, huge gap between updates, my sincere apologies, but I have been sick and also University has taken a lot of time up that I would usually use for writing. Learning a new language from scratch on top of a teaching degree is hard. Anyway, here is the next chapter, short I know, but it ends at a turning point so making it longer wouldn’t work. Anyway, enjoy.

NB:I haven't worked out how to have the site recognise bold and italics from a word file yet, so I hope the converstaions between the two spirits aren't too confusing.

Disclaimer: as always, not mine, I am just borrowing for a while.

 

Chapter 7: Reunion and Revelation

Remus Lupin stared up and down Privet Drive in bemusement. The street practically screamed normal to the point where it was almost scary. He slipped his hand into the pocket of the faded muggle slacks he was wearing and drew out Harry’s return letter once more where the young wizard outlined how to get to his Aunt’s house.  
It was odd really. He had never actually met Lily’s sister at all and come to think of it, he couldn’t really recall her ever talking about her much either. The few times he could remember the woman ever coming up in conversation he had noted a veiled look of sorrow and disgust in the witch’s bright green eyes; it was an expression he had never though he would see.   
Lily Evans had been one of the most accepting and forgiving people he had ever had the privilege to meet. She had a way of seeing into a persons heart and accepting them for who they were. She had married James Potter after all and he was far from being an angelic specimen of wizard kind. Even after she had found out that he himself was a werewolf, she hadn’t turned away from him. In fact, she had tried her hardest to find any information she could in order to help her husband’s friend.  
Therefore it had disturbed him greatly when Dumbledore had announced he was leaving young Harry with his mother’s sister; but in the end he had backed down. After all, it wasn’t like he could take the boy in, not with ministry laws as they were and with his so called traitorous godfather in prison, there wasn’t anywhere suitable for him to be sheltered.   
Shaking out of his memories, the werewolf slipped his hands into his pockets and strolled casually along the street, his sharp eyes taking note of the brass numbers on the doors until he spotted number four.  
Taking in the neat house before him, Remus looked at the house on one side, then the house on the other and shook his head. If it wasn’t for the fact that the neat gardens contained different plants, he would swear that someone had cast a duplication spell a few times in order the populate the street instead of building individual houses.  
‘Well, here we go.’ Straightening his shoulders, he made his way up to the front door and tapped on the white wood.  
The door was opened by a thin, horse faced woman and Remus found himself blinking in mild surprise, she looked nothing like Lily, “Mrs Petunia Dursley I presume.” He greeted softly, giving the faintest of bows.  
The woman’s thin eyebrow rose slightly and her sharps eyes travelled over his appearance, taking in his mildly shabby clothes, his tired eyes and his grey streaked light brow hair. “And who might you be?” she finally asked.  
Remus had to hold back from blinking again at her disagreeable tone and he forced a faint smile on his face. “My name is Remus Lupin, madam. I was a friend of your sister. I am here to see Harry, if I may.”  
At the mention of Lily, Petunia Dursleys eyes went flat and travelled over him again, this time a sneer on her thin face, “You are one of them.” She sniffed, “If you are here to see the boy, he is in his bedroom. I am warning you now, I do not wish you in my house, so take your meeting somewhere else. If my husband finds out I let one of your kind around here, there will be hell to pay.” At that she turned and gestured sharply for him to follow.  
Remus could feel a frown come across his features, he didn’t think she knew of him being a werewolf, so he figured that she was talking about him being a wizard. But how she could harbour such resentment with a witch for a sister and a wizard for a nephew, he couldn’t fathom.  
He followed the woman into the house and looked around curiously, the frown on his face deepening as he noticed pictures on the walls and mantle of a large blond boy but not a single trace of a child that resembled Harry.  
Petunia’s rather shrill voice drew his attention, she was standing at the bottom of the stairs, “Boy, you have a visitor. Get yourself down here and sort this out before Vernon gets home.” She turned to face him with a sour twist to her lips, “Well, he’s at the end of the hall, don’t take too long.” With that she spun and stalked through to the kitchen and Remus turned his attention to the stairs, not knowing what to think anymore.  
Walking up the stairs, he made his way down the short hall to the last door and knocked softly. There was a faint, “Come in.” and he pushed it open and glanced into the room only to stare in pained surprise. Seated on the bed, dressed in a red and silver robe and reading through a textbook laying open on his lap was a slender, undersized version of James Potter.  
A soft whisper shook him out of his shock and he thought he heard the boy stutter “Remus.” before a look of what he could only describe as grief spread across those familiar features and the boy ducked his head. A second later, he looked up again and his bright green eyes shone with pleasure;  
“Mr Lupin, please come in. I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon.”  
Mildly curious at the odd change that had come over the boy in those few seconds, Remus let a kind smile spread across his face and closed the door as he stepped into the room. “I understand there were a few matters you wished to discuss with me concerning your parents, Harry.” He said by way of greeting.  
The boy nodded and slipped off the bed, going over to a wooden chest sitting on his desk, “Yes, there are a few things that I need to sort through before going to school and I was hoping you could help me.” He stated calmly, “But I think it would be better if we found somewhere else to discuss matters as this isn’t exactly the right environment for this sort of business.”  
Even more curious then when he had first read Harry’s letter, Remus found himself nodding in agreement, “I can take us to the Leaky Cauldron if you wish, I am sure that Tom would be willing to give us access to one of the parlour’s if we asked him.”  
Harry smiled up at him and he felt his stomach jump at seeing those sparkling eyes again and he found himself smiling in return.  
Harry tucked the box under his arm then turned to look at him expectantly, “I think we will have to get outside the protections on the house first, but I should be able to.. ah.. transport us once we are clear.” He explained, not real sure how much about magic the boy actually knew. Harry rolled his eyes at him however;  
“The wards on this house are to keep people out, not to keep them in.” he explained patiently and a faint frown came over his face, “But I do think that I am going to need your help to apparate, I’m not too sure on my control at the moment and I wouldn’t want to leave half of myself spread across London.”  
Remus felt his brain go slightly numb with bafflement, not knowing how to react at all and Harry took pity on him, touching his arm lightly and giving him a faint smile, “Don’t worry Mr Lupin, everything will become clear once we are in a secure location.”  
Wanting to get to the bottom off all this, Remus pulled himself together and held his arm out to his young passenger. As soon as that thin hand gripped his sleeve tightly, he apparated them directly to the Leaky Cauldron.   
It didn’t take much persuasion for them to get one of the private parlours on the second floor and as soon as the door closed behind the retreating innkeeper, Harry cast a few privacy charms that Remus could actually feel shimmering in the air from the strength of them and turned to face him.  
“I’m sorry for all the evasiveness, Mr Lupin,” he began and Remus held back from a grimace, that wasn’t a name he wanted Harry to call him. He had used to call him Mooney when he was small, too bad it was so long ago now, he gave a tired smile and turned his full attention to the boy in front of him, “There are a few things that I need to tell you and I only ask that you keep an open mind.”  
After all the mystery, Remus was quite willing to accept just about anything so he nodded in agreement and saw Harry’s shoulders relax slightly as he smiled happily and closed his eyes.  
Curiously enough, his expression went blank for a moment and when he looked at him again, those green eyes were no longer so clear. Their bright green depths tempered with pain and grief and far too knowledgeable for the young face they dominated, “Hello, Mooney.” He whispered.

It had been more of a blow than Harry had expected, seeing Remus again. When the older wizard had slipped his head through the door, Harry had felt a blow to his stomach, as if he had been kicked. He had stared for a second, his mind flooding with images of an older version of the werewolf, worn down and bleeding, his eyes dull with pain as he lay dying in his arms. It was too much for him and with a wrench, the older spirit withdrew leaving the younger to take over.  
While Harry managed to get them somewhere where they could talk, the spirit battled with his grief, all the while, revelling in being in his old friends presence once again. By the time Harry turned over control to him once again, he had regained his equilibrium enough to be amused at the total confusion on the werewolf’s face as he greeted him.  
“I think you might want to sit down, old friend, as this is going to take some explaining.”  
His amusement grew as Remus looked even more baffled as he took his advice and sat across from his in one of the worn seats.  
“Much of what I am going to tell you is going to be hard to believe, I’m sure,” he began, shifting a little uncomfortably;

“That has to be the understatement of the century.”

“Be quiet, I could do without the commentary.” The younger spirit just snorted and he turned his attention outwards once more, a rueful expression on his face.  
“I’m sure you have noticed, that my personality is a little… fragmented.” Again there came a snicker from the back of his mind, but this time he ignored it.  
Remus’s eyes had become slightly calculating and Harry found himself shifting slightly on his seat in nervousness, “The truth of the matter is, I am not who you think I am, or at least not entirely.”  
Remus’s eyebrow shot up and Harry sighed in frustration,  
“Look, I’m not saying this very well, hopefully I can make you understand without you freaking. The truth is, there are two souls living within this body.”  
Harry held his breath, waiting for an explosion that never came. Remus just stared at him, his expression blank.  
“Ah, I’m not sure I follow you.” He said at last, “Are you telling me there is two people living inside Harry’s body?”  
Harry let out a chuckle, “Well sort of.” He amended, “The second soul, me, is actually an older version of myself. The one you were talking to earlier is the eleven year old Harry.”  
Remus blinked at him then shook his head, “What in the hell is going on here? How is it possible to have to ages of your own soul within you?”  
Harry bit his lip then sighed, “To answer that, I am going to have to tell you everything that led up to it.” he said softly. “Just remember to keep an open mind as there are some things I am going to tell you that are going to be more then disturbing.”  
Remus sat back with a nod, his eyes shielded, giving away none of his thoughts and Harry braced himself, diving head long into an edited version of his life of hell.  
As he spoke, Remus lost his composed look and his expression became more and more distressed. He went from sitting back in his chair to almost falling on the floor as he leaned forward, taking in everything Harry said.  
As he explained about Sirius’s innocence and subsequent death, the man almost went catatonic. Brutally ignoring the man’s distress, Harry ploughed on, knowing that if he didn’t get everything out now, he would never be able to find to the courage later on.  
By the time he reached the end of it, he was shaking with stress and Remus was clutching at his hands, his eyes wide with shock and gleaming with the wild protectiveness that he had come to associate with the wolf over the years towards those he considered family.  
“My god Harry.” The man whispered as he fell silent, and Harry found himself being pulled into a fierce embrace.  
Harry went rigid at first then collapsed in his arms, fighting against tears that he knew he wouldn’t be able to stop if he let start, “I have missed you so much, Mooney.” He almost whimpered, “The thought of having to go through all of that all over again is so hard.”  
In the back of his mind he felt the warm presence of his younger soul and he managed to smile softly at the support the other silently offered, “At least this time I am not alone.”  
Remus pulled back and studied his eyes and Harry felt his smile become faintly amused, “As I said, there are two of us in here now.” He tapped at his forehead, “I didn’t absorb the younger soul, instead we sort of exist in a kind of harmony. Most of the time we are more or less merged but it is possible for the two of us to think independently.”  
With that he shifted his consciousness and the younger Harry came to the fore, both of them chuckling as Remus’s eyes widened, no doubt seeing the change in their eyes, “That’s right, sir. I was wondering if I could call you Mooney as well? It is a little odd with my older self knowing you and me not. Although I do have access to his memories.”  
A rather delighted smile slowly spread across the werewolf’s face and tears glinted in his soft brown eyes, “Of course you can Harry, and it is so good to see you again. I have missed you so.” He hugged him again and Harry found himself laughing along with him as the stress overflowing from his older self abruptly released him and he felt slightly light headed.   
Pulling back, he smiled and closed his eyes. Giving the slight twist of his thoughts, a shimmer appeared off to his left and his older spirit appeared, his expression one of pain filled joy. Seeing his face, Remus swore softly and shook his head. “So this is what James would have looked like if he had lived longer.” He said softly, reaching out as if to touch the spirits face, his eyes were sad as they travelled over the image and Harry bit his lip at the sorrow that radiated off the man, “But then again,” he continued, taking in the haggard features, the ragged robes and the haunted eyes, “Maybe not. You have seen so much pain. I can’t see how you made the choice to endure this all again.”  
The older Harry snorted and cast a look at his younger counterpart, “That’s easy, Mooney.” He answered softly, “This time I intend to do things differently. This time I do not intend to loose everyone I care about.” He cast his eyes back to the werewolf, his expression grim, “I had to set things right.”  
He fell silent and each of them became lost in their own thoughts before Remus spoke again, his voice soft, “You said in your letter that there was something you needed my help with.”   
The spirit nodded, “Yes. You see, there are a few things we need to set in order before we go back to school, mainly setting up somewhere to live other then Aunt Petunia’s.” he saw the expression on Remus’ face and he held up his hand to forestall him, “I know Dumbledore had reason for me to stay there, after all, I have lived this life already, but I have to tell you now, that the protections offered by the wards were not worth it in the end. When Voldemort finally came for me, they didn’t hold up. Not only that, but my presence there put the Dursleys in danger.” His mouth twisted in disgust and Harry rolled his eyes in sympathy, “They may not be the most intelligent or tolerant muggles in the known universe, but they didn’t deserve to be on the end of Death Eater wands.” He shook his head and his face grew grim, “Not only that, but we also need to come up with a plan to set Sirius free.”  
At his words, Remus started badly and his face went white, “Sirius.” He whispered and Harry wrapped his small arm around the man’s thin shoulders, “He really is innocent. And I never questioned it.” his voice started to shake and the spirit shook his head in sympathy.  
“It’s alright you know.” He said softly, “He understood in the end. The both of you thought the other was the traitor, when it was Peter all along. The important thing is that you now know and we can work to get him free and maybe this time he will not end up a fugitive.” His face tightened and pain flashed in his eyes, “And maybe this time I won’t get him killed.” He whispered.  
Harry looked back and forth between both solum faces and had to keep from rolling his eyes, “Really, you two. I think it would be more productive to discuss what we are going to do instead of dwelling on regrets both past,” here he stabbed a glance at Remus, “And future.” That one went to his older half, “After all, isn’t that why we called Mooney here in the first place?”  
The spirit smiled ruefully at him and shook his head, “Sorry.” He muttered. Turning his gaze back to Remus he sighed, “What we wanted to talk to you about was helping us with some of the details that would be impossible for an eleven year old wizard. Mostly we have been able to get around much of the rules and laws but there are a few things that will need an adult to accomplish.”  
Remus eyes had gone shrewd again as he glanced back and forth between the two of them, “Just what rules have you managed to circumvent?” he asked suspiciously.  
The spirit snorted and Harry contrived to look completely innocent, a performance that earned them a raised eyebrow in return.  
Instead of replying, Harry drew his wand out of his sleave and muttered a soft levitation charm on the foot stool. Remus watched the piece of furniture raise into the air, rotate slowly then sink to the ground again, all without saying a word.  
“How, may I ask, have you managed to work around the underage magic laws?” he asked mildly and Harry snickered at the tightly suppressed emotions behind the blank expression.  
“Simple,” the spirit explained, “Young Harry Potter is exempt from the laws as long as he is in the presence of his magical tutor.”  
Remus raised an eyebrow again and Harry laughed, “He managed to change our aura so that it reads as two.” He chuckled, “That way, I’m always registered as being in the presence of my tutor so the underage laws no longer apply.”  
Remus continued to stare at them then surprisingly started to laugh, “Brilliant,” he finally marvelled, shaking his head, “Absolutely brilliant. Alright, you have my attention,” he smiled softly, “Not that you really needed to gain it. What did you have in mind?”  
Harry read what the other wanted him to do and he lifted the chest from where he had placed it on the small table and carefully lifted the lid. Inside was an entire filing cabinets worth of shrunken paperwork. Flicking his wand he caught the piece that flitted out at his request and tapped it to return it to it’d original size. “First things first,” he started, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, “We need to organise us a new home.”  
As he outlined his ideas on setting the ruin of Godrics Hollow liveable once more, Harry watched the expression on Remus face become rather distracted. Reading through the paperwork the older wizard muttered to himself then asked absently, “What about the Potter Estate? I’m sure the family wards would be more then strong enough to keep you safe, especially if you are able to enhance them at all.”  
He looked up to catch the spirit staring at him in shock, “What’s the matter?” he asked with a surprised blink.   
The older Harry shook his head slowly, “What are you talking about?” he asked finally, “What estate?”  
Remus blinked at him again, “The family estate. The one passed down from generation to generation. Surely you received it with the rest of your inheritance once you reached majority?”  
The spirit shook his head and his face twisted with bitterness, “No, I didn’t.” he rasped, “Just another thing the headmaster neglected to mention to me I suppose.”  
Remus went back to shuffling through the papers, looking for something in particular, “Not necessarily.” He answered absently, “It is entirely possible that the headmaster didn’t know about it. The older pureblood families are very paranoid about their family estates, even the Potter’s. The protections on the place make it impossible to even remember the existence of it unless you have been keyed to the wards. Makes the fidilius charm look like a first year party trick in comparison.”  
The older spirit frowned, “Hang on, if that is so, then how come mum and dad were in the cottage instead of the manor the night Vodemort attacked if it had protections that good?”  
Remus looked up at him and his eyes grew sad, “Because all of us were keyed to the wards after James’ parents died. But then there was that fiasco with finding out there was a traitor in our midst, so we decided to use the fidilius charm on the cottage instead. That way there was less of a chance of anything going wrong as only the secret keeper would know the location.” His expression grew taut with pain, “I always wondered if we had made a mistake about that.” He muttered.  
The spirit frowned as he considered this new information and Harry could follow echoes of his thoughts and smiled.   
With a chuckle, the spirit threw him a smile, both in his head and through his projection and shook his head at Lupin, “If it is at all possible for us to set up at the manor, then by all means, I think it would be a good move. If the protections on the place are as good as you say then we will be able to plan effectively without having to be concerned with being interrupted and there will be plenty of room for both you and Sirius once we set him free.”  
Remus’s head snapped up at that and he stared back and forth between the two of them causing Harry to laugh, “You really didn’t think we were going to abandon you once you helped us out did you?” he chided gently, shaking his head.  
His older self reached out a hand to lay it on the older wizards knee, even if he couldn’t touch him and met the wide eyes with his own pain filled green. “Mooney, I already lost you once.” He told him softly, “You are family, there is no way you are going back to that dingy little flat of yours to live all alone. You need not be concerned about the full moon, I intend to address that particular matter as soon as I can and as for Sirius, we will get him back. You can count on it.” as he spoke, Harry slipped from his chair and came up behind the projection. Slowly putting out his hand, he merged with the image and as he spoke the last, both souls merged to stare out at the werewolf in complete agreement and sincerity.  
Remus continued to stare into the green eye before him for a moment longer, desperate hope fighting it’s way across his face and eventually he threw himself forward to encase Harry’s thin shoulders in a fierce embrace, “You can count on my support, Harry. I swear it.” he whispered harshly.  
Eventually he pulled back and Harry smiled at him in reassurance before turning his attention to the paperwork still packed into the small chest, “I think that our first point of action would be to visit the manor.” He announced, “From what I have been able to make out, once I signed the forms at Gringotts, all of my families assets were transferred over to my control so there shouldn’t be any trouble in that regard.”  
Remus made an interrogative noise and Harry glanced up to meet his eye, “I’d been meaning to ask you how you managed that.” The older wizard commented, a bemused sound in his voice, “The restrictions Dumbledore and the ministry set on the Potter estates were pretty extensive from what I could gather.”  
Harry snorted as he sifted though more documents, “Goblins politics come in handy when you know how to follow them.” He answered absently, “Years ago I had to work closely with them for a time when Voldemort decided the bank was a tasty target. The goblins work under an entirely different set of laws, ones in which wizarding law rarely interfere. In regards to the bank, they are generally willing to allow the ministry to dictate how things are run but if something crosses the line into what they deem inappropriate, they will intervene. It is just my good fortune that they believe that no one has rights over another’s assets, no matter what the circumstances. Marriages combine the assets of two people, all of which are expanded to include direct family, but there are no outside influences that can be imposed. For example it is exceedingly difficult for the ministry to freeze the assets of a criminal without the cooperation of the goblins.” Harry shook his head and snorted, “Idiots, they should realise that antagonising the creatures that hold the keys to their very fortunes is not an intelligent move.”  
Remus chuckled and shook his head, Harry caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and raised an eyebrow at the expression on the man’s face.  
“Which Harry am I talking to at the moment?” he asked with faint amusement, earning him a smile in return as Harry snickered.  
“Both of us, I’m afraid.” He answered, “We usually remain combined unless doing something that requires two minds or if we are discussing something. Not that it really matters as our minds are open to each other, so anything said by one is echoed by the other.”  
Remus shook his head, “You certainly have landed yourself into an interesting predicament.”   
Harry frowned in thought as he sat back on his heals, his eyes scanning the papers he was preparing to pack back into the chest, “There is something I was wondering about.” He ventured finally, “This whole matter of the manor and everything, if the only reason that you didn’t reveal it was because of Sirius being a traitor, why didn’t you tell me about it after we found out what had happened? It would have been so much easier on him if he could have stayed there instead of going on the run like he had to.”   
Remus shook his head ruefully and helped him gather up the rest of the paperwork, “That one I can answer. The wards on the place have a time period on them. Anyone keyed to them who is not of the blood needs those keys to be renewed every so often otherwise the wards kick back in. I would guess that at the moment, I would no longer be able to pass the wards and would even have a difficult time finding the place unless I was really concentrating on finding it. In another year at most I would probably have completely forgotten its existence.”  
Blinking at that bit of information, Harry shook his head ruefully, “Undone by our own protections, how ironic.” He mused, slipping the paperwork back into its chest. Glancing around to make sure he had everything he rose to his feet and looked to the older wizard, “So how about it Mooney, what say we go track us down a manor.”

……………………………….

AN/ I know, super short chapter, but I am on holidays at the moment so I should be able to get more of this done. Huge thank you to all your reviews, I read them all whenever I have a spare moment, and they are all appreciated. Keep an eye out for more updates, I’ll try to get as much done in the time off from uni as I can. Untill next chapter;

See Ya


	8. Potter Manor for some Sirius Planning

  
Author's notes: planning time  


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AN/ Hey, another chapter up now we get into some of the more serious planning and we get a glimpse of Harry’s soon to be headquarters. Um, just one thing, anything to do with landmarks etc, I am just making up. After all I have enough trouble with Australian geography, let alone British. There will be a few real town names etc, but I just pulled them off a map I found by google search so, yeah. Heh.  
As for weather and such, I have to remember the seasons are around the other way then to here, so bear with me but let me know if I get anything wrong. As far as I can work out, July is in the middle of summer, so that is what I will be using as my reference point.

Disclaimer: Not mine (sigh).

Chapter 8: Potter Manor for some Sirius planning

Harry wasn’t entirely sure what he expected when Remus apparated them to the location he could vaguely recall as being where the manor was situated, but whatever he had envisioned did nothing to prepare him for what they found.  
The two of them popped into existence on a wide lane that led from a small, sleepy looking village. The hills around them were a variety of deep greens and the forest in the distance was a patch of deep emerald. 

Looking around at the neat line of trees that lined the lane and down at the village, Harry tried to place the location in his mind but came up a blank. “Uh, Mooney? Exactly where are we?” he asked finally.  
Glancing over at him, Remus caught sight of his bemused expression and smiled, “This is Churchshire, a little community just north of Carlisle. It’s one of the small, combined magical and muggle communities. The people around here are well familiar with magic, and many of them still follow many of the old traditions as well.” he smiled slightly again as he gazed around at the rolling hills, “We used to run here, your father, Sirius and I.” he mused softly.

Harry noted how he had left out Peter’s name and sighed mentally, his heart aching for the pain he knew his friend felt over the betrayal. Remus had confided to him once, that when he had found out that Peter was behind all of their pain he had been quite willing to kill the rat if he hadn’t stepped in to stop him. “You saved more then Peter’s life that day.” He had told him softly, “You very may well have saved both Sirius’s and my souls.” 

Shaking his mind from the memories, Harry looked around again and became aware of a faint tingle of strong magic off to his right. It had been growing steadily since they had appeared and as he took note of it, it seemed to snap into focus in his mind and he stared at the open field in front of them in puzzlement.  
“Mooney, what…” he began, stepped forward, his hand slightly outstretched. Before he could formulate the rest of his question however, there was a shimmer before him and a set of huge, wrought iron gates appeared. Staring up at them, Harry had the almost insatiable urge to giggle hysterically. The huge gates were dominated by a stylised P and bracketing the gates on tall marble posts sat two great phoenix statues, staring down at any who dared enter their presence.   
“Well, I suppose that answers where the manor is.” He muttered to himself.   
Reaching up he lay a hand on the metal of the gate and in pulsed slightly before swinging silently open and after a swift glance at Remus, he stepped through.

He shivered as he felt the wash of powerful magic over his skin, magic that seemed to pulse slightly as it recognised him, then the estate shimmered into existence before his stunned eyes.

“Great Merlin.” His younger soul whispered as he took in the grounds that stretched out before him. Smirking at his choice of words, the older soul answered back “You can say that again. Damn, I wish I had known about this place before.”

Spread beneath his feet was a wide white pebbled path, lined on either side by neatly trimmed, waist high hedges with tall, shady trees spaced at even intervals leading in a straight line between sprawling, manicured gardens.  
At the end of the drive, between the trees, he could make out a huge, beautiful, manor house that would rival some of the palaces of the muggle royals.

Remus came up beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Come on Harry.” He said softly and glancing up into his eyes, Harry saw understanding in the other man’s gaze, “Let’s introduce you to your home.”

At that word, Harry felt a surge of unnameable emotion welling up from both of his souls. Never, in either of his life times, had he had a place he could truly attach that title to. In his future life he may have substituted Hogwarts into that role, but looking about at the grounds of the Potter Estate he felt something he hadn’t even noticed was adrift snap into place, making him feel slightly light headed. “Home.”

The hand on his shoulder tightened slightly and Harry managed to dredge up a smile from his numb brain, “You know Mooney.” He answered almost joyfully, “That sounds like the best idea I have ever heard.”

Without even thinking about what he was doing, he grabbed Remus by the hand and took off up the gravelled path, dragging the amused older wizard behind him, for all the world like an excited youngster eager to see someplace new.  
When they reached the door, Harry regained his composure and with a grave nod to Remus that was spoilt by the half nervous grin that chased in from his face, he reached his hand up to the deeply polished wood of the door.   
As with the gate, as soon as his hand touched the surface, the door shimmered slightly in recognition and opened soundlessly onto a grand entrance hall.   
The wide room was floored in gleaming white marble and two magnificent staircases swept up from either side to converge on a wide balcony that ran the back of the hall.   
Open halls led off in both directions and a huge chandelier hung from the high ceiling.  
Inlaid into the gleaming marble of the floor was the crest of the Potter family, a rearing stag with a stylised P entangled in the branched antlers.

Harry’s inspection of the room was interrupted by a staccato of sharp cracks and he almost jumped out of his skin as a troop of six house elves appeared in the middle of the hall.  
The eldest looking one of the group stepped forward and before Harry could react, he had bowed so low his nose almost touched the floor, “Master Potter, yous have finally returned.” The elf squeaked at him and the others followed suit, bowing before him, some with tears in their huge eyes.

Harry glanced at Remus in entreaty and the older wizard smiled in sympathy, stepping forward to face the troop of elves, “Tupic, do you know who I am?” he asked and the leader of the group raised his head to eye the werewolf before nodding gravely, “Yes, Master Lupin, sir. It has been long and long since yous has been in these halls.”  
Remus nodded with a sad smile, “I know, much has happened since I was last here.”  
The elf nodded gravely as the others behind him straightened and all of them bore subdued expressions, “We is knowing, Master Lupin,” the one called Tupic told him softly, “We is able to keep track of our family, so we is knowing what happened to Master James and Mistress Lily. We has been waiting a long time for Master Harry to return.” Here the little elf turned his big eyes back to his young master and Harry could see the pain in those eyes, reflected in five other faces.

Smiling in reassurance, Harry stepped forward and lay his hand gently on the elf’s head, “It is alright, Tupic,” he reassured him softly, “I am here now, and the manor is going to be open once more.”   
Tupic beamed up at him and bowed once again, “Thank you, Master Harry.” He almost whispered. 

Nodding, Harry smiled, he knew from some long talks he’d had with both Dobby and Winky over the years that it was most distressing for a bound elf to loose the family they cared for. The magic that bound them to a household was like their lifeline. In some cases, such as Dobby’s, this was a problem, but in most households, the elves flourished. They were created to serve the great families and took great pride in their work. After the manor being empty for so long, the Potter family elves had to have started to feel useless.  
Time to change that, “Tupic, could you please prepare rooms for Master Lupin? He is going to be staying here from now on and I would like you to see to setting up chambers for myself as well. I will be staying here in a few days time, after I put a few things in order.”

Straightening, the small creature adopted a stern air and turned to the other elves, “Yous heard Master Harry,” he rapped out, “Tissy, Makey, yous go and prepare Master Lupins chambers in the north wing, Carry, Suky, yous prepare the master chambers for Master Harry.” At his instruction, the four elves snapped their fingers and vanished with pops, leaving Tupic and a young female elf behind.  
The elder turned back and gazed up at Harry once more his eyes hopeful, “Master Harry sir, young Sissa here is just learning, I is wondering if there is something she can do for you?”

Harry smiled down at the young elf that stood nervously behind Tupic, she was about half the size of the older elf and like all the others was dressed in a pristine white doublet style garment made from two tea towels sewn together across the shoulders and down the side under the arms. The clean white fabric was unmarked and emblazoned on each of them was the Potter family crest. The little elf gazed up at him with wide purple eyes and Harry gave a small nod, “Sissa, would you mind making Master Lupin and myself some morning tea? We have been out all morning and we would greatly appreciate it.” the joy that spread across the young elf’s face warmed Harry’s heart and Sissa nodded enthusiastically, “Right away, Master Harry sir.” she piped and vanished with a faint pop.

Tupic bowed low in gratitude, “If there is nothing else, sirs?” he asked. At Harry’s nod he bowed again and vanished leaving Harry to turn to Remus, a little dazed, “Well, that was interesting.”   
Remus laughed softly and laid his hand on the younger wizards thin shoulder, “Sorry, I forgot to mention them. Tupic and the others have taken care of this family for a long time so you are in good hands.” Looking wistfully around the entrance hall he gave a slight smile, “How about a quick tour while Sissa makes that morning tea? I know for a fact that the elves here prefer to make everything by hand instead of relying on magic, so it will be a little while until she is ready.”  
Harry grinned, his stomach fluttering in excitement, “That is a great idea.”

They spent the next ten minutes walking through the ground floor, Remus pointing out various rooms from the great library to the door that led down to the potions lab. Before they got down to any serious exploring, Sissa popped in before them to inform them that morning tea was served for them in the drawing room. Nodding in thanks, Harry followed the young elf as she led them into what could be termed a large study before she bowed and vanished, leaving them to take in the silver tea service on the low table between two leather armchairs that were drawn up in font of the fireplace, complete with plates of small cakes and biscuits. Shaking his head at the young elf’s enthusiasm, he glanced around the room and froze as his eyes caught those of the large painting over the mantle.

The tall wizard was dressed in formal red and gold robes and his long, sliver streaked black hair was tied back in a low tail. Despite this effort to tame it, there were still traces of the unruly mop of the Potter line.   
His kind, brown eyes sparkled behind wire rimmed glasses as he glanced back and forth between Harry and Remus who had entered behind him, “Young Remus it is good to see you again.” He commented and his face lit with a gentle smile, “and I assume this youngster is Harry.”  
Harry blinked in confusion for a second or two then glanced down at himself before shaking his head, sometimes is was difficult to remember he was still only ten in this lifetime and a rather undersized ten at that.

“Damn I hate being small.” He muttered in his head and his younger half snorted,  
“Sorry.” He answered back, sarcastically, “If I had known you were planning on showing up, I would have made sure to grow a bit first.” 

He laughed aloud at his own internal debate and caught the eyes of both wizards watching him and shook his head, “Sorry,” he muttered then smiled up at the painting, “Yes I’m Harry, I assume you are one of my ancestors?”  
Remus laughed, “This, Harry, is Harold Potter, young great Grandfather, and namesake might I add. The old man there is one of the ones who helped us come up with some of the more creative spells we put into effect at school.”

Harry raised an eyebrow and looked up at the painting once more to find the man looking up at the painted ceiling of his picture, and innocent look on his face. Not at all fooled, Harry snorted in amusement and took one of the chairs and starting on the morning tea that Sissa had laid out for them.

Remus joined him, chuckling at the continued innocent air given off by the painted wizard. It didn’t last too long however, as the older Potter seemed to have as much curiosity in him as Harry did, “So Remus, what one earth has been going on lately? The house elves were able to tell me about some of what happened to young James and Lily but not much else. As far as I was able to make out, something had gone terribly wrong with the plans that James had set up concerning the cottage and Sirius ended up being arrested.”  
Harry sat back with a sigh and Remus hung his head. Harry could tell the werewolf was still reeling from some of what he had learnt that morning, not that he could blame him. After all, he had found out the friend he had thought had died trying to avenge his friends had been a traitor and the one that had gone down for killing all three of them had been innocent all along.

Shaking his head he told his grandfather how his parents had died and of Sirius’s subsequent arrest. The painting frowned as he explained that his godfather had been accused of being a death eater and a traitor and the older wizard snorted, causing both Harry and Remus to look up at him in mild surprise, “I thought the idiot informed Dumbledore of the switch.” He muttered. 

As his words sank in Harry jumped to his feet in shock, “You mean, you know that they switched keepers?” he almost shouted.  
The painting raised an eyebrow and blinked, “Of course I know, I was the one who tried to talk him out of it. After all, the four of them planned many of their pranks in this room and I had watched over them all for a long time. I told him that Remus was no traitor, despite being a werewolf and that it was a mistake to trust the rat. But he wouldn’t listen.”   
Harry dropped back into his seat in shock. All this time, all the years that Sirius had spent in prison, all of it could have been cleared up if someone had taken even the smallest amount of time to investigate the matter.

Evidently Remus had come to the same conclusion because he was almost hyperventilating in shock.  
“What in the hell was the headmaster thinking, leaving the entire case up tot the ministry,” he growled, getting up to pace back and froth before the fire.  
Remus shook his head, his face haggard, “I don’t think he was considering much at all at that stage.” He sighed, “None of us were. Once word got back to us of the attack and the arrest, we threw ourselves into getting you out of danger. The minister promised to take care of Sirius and to get to the bottom of the matter. He told us he held a closed trial and they questioned him extensively on his involvement. The evidence that he gave to the headmaster seemed to be intact, everything pointed to Sirius. To make matters worse, there was no way any of us suspected Peter, after all the little rat apparently died by Sirius’s hand and we all knew he hardly tolerated the little sneak most of the time.”

Harry growled and rubbed at his forehead, “There was no trial.” He barked harshly, “Closed or otherwise. The minister just covered everything up, with the help of some of Voldemorts supporters within the ministry. Most of the evidence that he based his arrest on came from them, and he didn’t bother to dig any further, not with him being in the pocket of some of the more influential families with death eater ties. This whole fiasco was a circus from the beginning.” He dropped back into his chair and glanced up at the painting to find his grandfather looking at him in confusion, smiling at his expression Harry gave the slight twist of his mind and the older spirit appeared beside him, “If you are wondering why I don’t sound much like a ten year old, it is because I am not.” The spirit explained, “I have a little more information on this particular case then I really like as I had spent a lot of time looking into it over the years.”  
The painting shook his head and peered at him closely, “And who the hell are you?” he asked softly.  
Harry laughed, “He’s me.” He said softly, “The future me. This is who I will become. He came to me a few weeks ago, from the future.”  
The spirit snorted, “Simply put, I was sent back in order to set a few things right.” He explained, “Harry here is ten years old, me on the other hand, I was forty three the day I died.”

At his words everyone fell silent and Harry saw Remus shudder out of the corner of his eye. Because the spirit shared his mind, he noticed it too and he smiled gently at the werewolf, “Don’t worry about it old friend.” He said softly, and Harry reached out to lay a hand on Remus’s knee in response to the prompting of his older self, “I do not intend for things to get as bad this time around that such drastic actions are necessary.”  
Harry drew the projection back into himself then sat back his chair and huffed in frustration, “But first things first, we have to get Sirius out. I think that releasing him even only two years before he got free last time will do wonders for his metal health. He told me once that he was able to hold off the effects of the dementors for a long time and it was only towards the end of his captivity that he started to loose out against them.”

Across from him Remus muttered under his breath. “If there was some way we could bring his lack of a trial to light, we might be able to get things moving.”   
Harry snorted in agreement then frowned in thought, “Hang on,” He said distractedly, “If we can bring the matter to Dumbledore’s attention, do you think he would be able to help?”  
Remus frowned at him in curiosity, “That would be a given.” He answered after a moment, “Being chief warlock on the Wizigamont as he is, his name carries a lot of weight.”   
Harry nodded, his mind still turning over a seed of an idea. Climbing to his feet he paced back and forth, not even registering Remus watching his every move, an almost predatory look of hope on his face.   
“As far as I have been able to find out,” he muttered, thinking aloud, “Everything to do with my inheritance was supposed to be held in trust by Sirius until I was of age. But when he was thrown in prison, Dumbledore froze everything using the fact that I would be raised by muggles to convince the goblins to put a hold on my assets.” Here he looked over at Remus and the werewolf nodded cautiously, his eyes clearly asking were he was going with this.  
A sly grin started to spread across Harry’s face as the seed in his mind blossomed and he almost snickered aloud as it took shape, “My dear Mooney, I think I just worked out how to inform our dear headmaster of the ministry’s lax effort on Sirius’s behalf, and we are going to get Fudge himself to do it for us.”

Remus raised an eyebrow at him and Harry did snicker. Sitting back down in his seat, he leant forward with his elbows on his knees. “First things first, I want to organise with the Goblins for an official reading of my parents will.” He stated, “And I think that we should invite the headmaster to attend.” This time Remus eyebrow almost disappeared into his hairline and Harry laughed.  
“The letter I will send to the Headmaster will read, and I quote; “Dear Professor Dumbledore, After meeting with the goblins with Hagrid earlier this month, Gringotts have recently sent me details concerning my inheritance left to me by my parents. They have explained many things to me and have informed me that, following protocol, they need to conduct a formal reading of my parents will in order to finalise a few matters. It seems as though there is some discrepancy over my legal guardian, and the Goblins have informed me that they are going to need to contact you in order to straighten out a few facts. I have also invited a Mr Remus Lupin, whose name I came across in my parents official papers. You should expect to hear from Gringotts within a few days, but I thought it would be polite for me to inform you of this development before hand. I hope that this is not of an inconvenience to you at all, sincerely Harry James Potter.” 

Remus sat back in his chair, his eyes narrowing in thought and Harry could almost see the man’s mind working as he tried to follow the reasoning through to its end, “Alright, that should get his attention, so what happens when we get him in a meeting with the Goblins?” he asked.

Harry let an innocent look cross his face, “Nothing, Mooney. I just thought he should be present. After all, when the goblins ask for the transcripts of Sirius’s trial in order for him to be declared unfit to be my guardian, we will need the headmaster’s approval in order to obtain them, won’t we?”

Remus stared at him then barked out a laugh, “Oh Merlin,” he gasped, “And when he firecalls the minister after those papers,”  
Harry’s grin grew positively evil, “Exactly,” he almost hissed, “Think how the headmaster is going to react when old Fudge explains to him why those papers do not exist.”

Remus continued to laugh and shook his head in admiration, “And if it comes down to it, we can have the headmaster talk to Harold here about the switch of keeper. Harry my boy,” he rasped out, “You are too Slytherin for your own good, do you know that? That is pure genius.”

There was a chuckle from over their heads and they both looked up to see Harold shaking his head, “If I didn’t know better, Remus I would be insulted by that remark.” He said in amusement and Harry grinned at him,   
“What grandfather,” he said innocently, “Wouldn’t you be so proud to have a Slytherin in the family?”  
Remus snorted, “He’s a Gryffindor through and through,” he whispered loudly to Harry, “He’d probably have a heart attack and die again.”  
Harry laughed and Harold had a look of, wounded pride, totally faked of course “I would not,” he answered haughtily, “After all, my father was a Slytherin, so that would be hypocritical of me.”  
Harry nearly choked on his tea as he gave a surprised laugh, “You’re kidding me right?”   
Remus rolled his eyes and the painting sighed mournfully, “I’m afraid not.” He moaned, “He was so upset with me for being a thick headed Gryffindor, after all his talk of Slytherin pride.” He shook his head sadly then actually snickered, “That’s probably why I had so much fun helping the boys with their pranks. After all, from what they told my, the pride of Slytherin house has slipped over the years.”  
Harry laughed, “That certainly explains some of my more interesting characteristics anyway.” He smiled as he felt the shifting against his arm, a smile that grew into a grin as he eyed the two other wizards, both living and not. “You might want to hold back on sorting me in your own heads, after all, you never know where the hat will put me this time.”

Remus raised an eyebrow at him again and Harry had to hold back another laugh; that expression was starting to become a permanent fixture on the man’s face, “I thought you told me you were a Gryffindor Harry.” He stated.  
Harry smirked at him, “Oh, I was,” he purred, “But it took some arguing on my part for the hat to put me there, after all, it looks as though I have Slytherin blood in my veins.”   
As he said that, he gave a soft hiss and a bright green head slipped out of his sleeve and Tabitha slid out to climb his arm and wrap gently around his neck.  
Remus stared at him in shock then Harry saw his eyes flicker to his robes and his grin grew even more at the dawning calculation in the others eyes, “Slytherin and Gryffindor colours.” He muttered, “The characteristics of both houses.” He raised his eyes to Harry’s then started to grin as well, “Oh it is going to be interesting once you reach school.”   
Harry snickered, “I can’t wait. But first, I think we need to put a few little details into effect.”

The two of them spent the rest of the morning going over their plans with the occasional input from the portrait over their heads and by the time they were ready to set things in motion, Harry realised that he had better get back to his aunt’s house before anyone became suspicious. 

After taking his leave from his great grandfather, he called Tupic in and told the head house elf that he would be back in a few days but Remus would be staying in the manor from then on. Ignoring the werewolf’s rather weak protests, he instructed the man to collect his belongings from his old apartment and to move into the rooms that were now officially his, “After all, Mooney,” he explained, “After we get Sirius free, this will become Marauder headquarters once more.”   
He grinned at the stunned look on the older man’s face and held out his arm for him to apparate him back to Privitt Drive.

Standing in front of the house, Harry turned to his one time professor and smiled, “Take the rooms, Mooney. I’ll get a few more things taken care of then move into the manor as well.” he grinned impishly, “Can’t have the boy who lived living all alone, can we?”   
Remus finally laughed and nodded in defeat, “Alright, I’ll take the room.” He gave in, “You just be careful. I know we need to get Sirius out, but I don’t want to run the risk of something happening to you.” His grin grew wistful, “We wouldn’t be the Marauders without a Potter in the picture.”

Once he slipped back into the shadows and apparated away, Harry turned to enter the house. It wasn’t until he entered the living room that he realised that it was a good thing that no one had seen him while he was outside, he had completely forgotten what he had been wearing. But after a second of thought he shrugged, not that it particularly mattered. 

His aunt watched him silently from the kitchen doorway as he walked up the stairs to his room. Since their trip into town to buy his clothes, she had been very withdrawn and quiet and Harry hoped that she was considering some of the ramifications of what he had been telling them.

Entering his room, he sighed as he shut the door and sat down at his desk, now wasn’t the time to be worrying, he had a letter to the Goblins to draft.   
“Do you think that this is going to work?” his younger soul asked. Both of them had some reservations about the idea but neither could give up the feeling of hope that perhaps their plan would work.  
“I certainly hope so,” the older spirit answered, “Because short of breaking him out ourselves, the only other course of action would be to tell the headmaster everything now and I don’t particularly want to do that yet. We don’t have enough information on what is going on at the moment, especially after that little incident this morning. I don’t want to give all our advantages away until I have to. Until we find out what Voldemort is up to, we need to be cautious.” Then he snorted, “Anyway, we have no guarantee the headmaster will be able to do anything about the situation unless we force the ministry to expose it’s own incompetence. By making them admit to the oversight of Sirius’s trial in front of the goblins will give us an extra boost as well.”  
Harry nodded, reflecting the movements of his younger half, “How about we set about writing that letter then.” He said aloud, reaching into his desk drawer. Pulling out a sheet of parchment and a quill, both of his minds merged together and he drafted a request to the goblins of Gringotts.  
“Now to set the ball rolling.” He muttered to himself.

……………………………

AN/ And so the plans begin. Oh, and don’t worry, Harry will start to get suspicious over Voldy’s movements, he’s already thinking something is wrong but there are going to be a few little points that are going to ring alarm bells very soon.

See Ya


	9. Headmaster Vs Minister

  
Author's notes: chapter title says it all, heh.  


* * *

AN/ here we are finally. I know, it was a long time coming, this chapter was hard to finish, which is odd. I have so much mapped out after this one, I just could not fill in this gap for some reason. Anyway, shorter then normal, but oh well, I hope it is up to standard. The confrontation with the minister was interesting to write. Anyway, hope you enjoy, on with the next chapter (Finally).

Disclaimer: not mine, never was, only thing that is mine is the storyline (mostly).

 

Chapter 9: Headmaster Vs Minister

All in all it was ridiculously easy to set up the meeting between the headmaster and the Gringotts Goblins. Once Harry had sent off his letter explaining to Grapel, the goblin in charge of his accounts, what he wanted, he had drafted a brief note to the headmaster along the lines of what he had dictated to Remus.   
Sending both letters off with Hedwig, he had set about planning how he was going to handle the meeting itself. He was going to have to be careful around Dumbledore, the old man was too observant by half and both of Harry’s souls agreed that it was too early for the old man to find out anything significant. As it was, they’d had an interesting time convincing Remus that they needed to keep quiet for now. The werewolf was all for going directly to the Headmaster until Harry had outlined what he had in mind. Their main focus was getting Sirius out of prison; they would work out where to go from there.  
It didn’t take long for Harry to receive a reply from either of his letter’s recipients. In fact, an owl from the headmaster and another from the goblin almost collided with each other as they swooped down through his window.  
Reading through both pieces of parchment, Harry felt his lips spreading into a smirk;

“Well, well, well, this should be interesting.” The older souls comment brought a snort from his younger counterpart,

“It was no wonder the hat wanted to place you in Slytherin.” The younger snickered, “The more sneaky anything is, the more you enjoy it.” his older self echoed his earlier snort,  
“You can’t tell me that you don’t as well.” he answered haughtily, “After all, you are me.”

Harry actually snickered aloud at his own internal debate, all in all it was interesting having two minds, that was for sure.   
The letter from the Goblins stated that they agreed to his request. He had outlined to Grapel that he was attempting to straighten out some of the problems that he had found in some of the records he had retrieved from his vault and he had hinted to the wily old Goblin that he was about to meddle in some high stakes politics; something he knew the old creature would find immensely entertaining.  
He’d also mentioned that he wanted a discrete investigation put into effect about his guardianship, knowing that once the Goblins came across the holes in his godfather’s case, they would be sure to investigate further. Not only that, but by their own vindictive nature they would be sure to help him rectify the situation, by virtue of the fact that he was considered one of their valued customers; a status that was almost as important as being a member of the clan.  
As he had expected, the Goblins didn’t waist any time in carrying out his request and the official note form the bank outlined an interview date a weeks hence, along with a personal note from Grapel letting him know that his ‘request’ was being seen to, letting him know that the investigations had been put into motion.   
All in all, Harry was rather pleased; the date was set for three days after his birthday, meaning that they would have enough time for the full investigations to go into effect, if his plan worked, before he headed off to school. He didn’t expect anything to be resolved before September first but he hoped that things would start rolling, and hopefully he would get the chance to visit the old mutt.  
Turning to the other letter, Harry chuckled to himself;  
“How long do you think it will take the headmaster to figure out that something is off with us?” his younger half mused .  
The older soul gave the impression of a shrug and Harry leaned back on his bed, “I have no idea.” He answered absently, frowning as he shifted uncomfortably on the thin mattress. “As long as we are careful, we should be alright. I do plan on telling the old man eventually, after all, there is no way we are going to be of much use if they keep seeing us as a child. But I need to look into a few things first.”  
That being said, he sat back up with a frown and pulled out his wand. Muttering a quick charm under his breath, he sighed in relief as he lay back on a much more comfortable mattress, while his younger half laughed in their shared skull.

His birthday, a few days later, was spent in a quiet party at the manor. The house elves were overjoyed at the chance to help their ‘Master Harry’ celebrate and Harry was hard pressed to keep control of his emotions. In his past lifetime, even after everything they had been through, he had never really celebrated his birthday, even with his friends, it was rather a novel experience.   
As to the matter of his moving into the manor, he spent his time alternating between the Dursley’s and his new home in order not to alert the Headmaster and he had made sure to inform Mrs Figg that he was getting a few things in order and he would appreciate it if she would keep his absences silent for now. When asked what to do if the Headmaster inquired straight out, Harry impishly told her to inform him that he was staying at a friends house before heading off to school. She had looked at him questioningly at that comment and he had contrived to look totally innocent when in truth he was impressed that the woman was observant enough that she realised he had no friends to speak of. At her arched eyebrow, he had merely given her a cheeky grin and she relented with an exasperated shake of her head.  
After that it was simply a matter of waiting.

The day of the meeting, Harry met up with Remus at Diagon Alley before the two of them headed towards the bank. Harry had chosen to wear one of his new sets of robes that day, the gold trimmed green ones, and he had Tabitha coiled around his wrist beneath the wide sleeves. Realistically he didn’t expect any trouble but he had gotten into the habit of being prepared anyway.   
Entering the bank, they were immediately led back into Gapel’s office, to find that the Headmaster had already arrived. The old man came forward as they entered and greeted them with a smile and a shake of Remus’ hand.  
Before the headmaster could ask anything however, Grapel had entered the room and taken a seat behind his desk, waving at the wizards in the room to take the ones across from him.  
“Now,” he started, getting straight to business, “The reason that we have called you all here is to clear up a few discrepancies that have arisen in regards to Mr Potters inheritance.” Looking at each of the wizards in turn the goblin gave a nod of satisfaction, “Now, in view of the fact that Mr Potter is not legally under the care of the muggles he was placed with it is imperative that we remedy this situation to ensure the best possible service to our client.”  
Harry watched the Headmaster with interest as the goblin spoke; he had known that Sirius’s status as his godfather was never revoked but he’d had no idea that the old man hadn’t legally signed him over to the Dursley’s. In a way, he was pleased, after all it made things much easier on his end, however he couldn’t help the slight resentment that simmered at the old mans high handed management of his life.  
Dumbledore stared at the goblin a moment then blinked, “With the imprisonment of Harry’s godfather, it was passed to me as executer of the Potter estate to place Harry in a suitable home.” He declared softly.   
Harry had to seriously restrain himself from rolling his eyes, suitable home his arse. He didn’t have the chance to comment however as Grapel continued.  
“Normally that would be the case.” He stated blandly, “However, as Mr Black was never revoked as godfather, the placement of Mr Potter rest solely in his hands. As does the distribution of the Potter estates.”   
Slipping a form out of the pile on his desk, seemingly without even looking, the goblin held it out to the Headmaster. “As executor, you Professor Dumbledore, have the power to declare Mr Black an unfit guardian if given due cause. If you could provide the official transcripts of the trial in which Mr Black was convicted, we can revoke his godfather status and can resign Mr Potter to a new guardian until his age of majority.”  
Looking over at Harry, the headmaster bowed his head slightly, “I apologise for all this my boy.” He said softly, “It looks as though I was remiss when I arranged for the Dursleys to take you in.”   
The goblin tapped a gnarled finger on his desktop, his ugly face clearly showing his irritation. “If you would, headmaster” He prompted, gesturing towards the fireplace that lined the back of his office, “Please, would you firecall the ministry for those transcripts, so we can wrap this matter up.”  
Bowing his head again, the aged wizard swept over to the large fireplace, absently catching the box of floo powder that flouted down to his hand.  
Kneeling on the hearth, he threw a handful into the flames then once they turned green thrust his head and shoulders in calling, “Ministry of Magic, Department of magical law enforcement.”  
Harry all but held his breath as he watched the crouched form for any sign of what the headmaster was thinking. Their whole plan hinged on how Dumbledore reacted to the news of the trial. As far as his older memories provided, the aged wizard had been none too pleased when he had found out but at that stage, the uproar over Sirius’s escape and subsequent entering of Hogwarts grounds and the whole situation of Pettigrew getting free, it had all been lost in the general confusion. This time, however, Harry was determined to bring the oversight to the headmasters attention when there was nothing to distract him.  
“Do you think this is going to work?” he finally whispered to himself, even though he could feel his counterparts nervousness,   
“I am not entirely sure.” His older soul answered back, fidgeting with the robes they were wearing, “If not, we are going to have to go to more extreme measures to get Padfoot free, and I would really rather avoid that if possible. We have enough to explain as it is without adding breaking a convicted criminal out of prison, even is he is innocent.”  
Glancing around the room, Harry caught Remus’ eye and the werewolf gave him an encouraging wink, nodding his head towards the figure crouched before the fire. Looking over at the headmaster, Harry could see the shoulders beneath the dark purple robes tensing and he would swear he could feel the old wizards’ aura pulsing slightly.  
After a few more agonising minutes, Dumbledore withdrew his head from the fire and stood up. Without turning, he took a half a dozen steps back and Harry shivered as he caught a glimpse of the old mans face. Dumbledore was furious.  
The fire flared green once again and a rather harassed looking Minister stumbled out, his bowler hat clutched nervously in his hands.  
As soon as the man saw Harry, he flinched rather violently; an action he repeated with even more force as his eyes locked onto the intense gaze of Remus. From his reaction, Harry had to muse if the man knew of Remus being werewolf. He certainly looked nervous enough.  
“Minister Fudge.” Dumbledore greeted softly and Harry snapped his gaze back to the old man in shock. Under the gentle tone, the Headmasters voice called almost be called menacing.  
“Er.. I think telling him about what is going on would be a better idea then keeping hi in the dark.” Harry stuttered to his older half, and he could feel the agreement along with a trace awe that wasn’t coming from only half his soul.  
The minister, on the other hand, seemed to completely miss the threat as he straightened his robes and lifted his chin pompously, “What can I do for you Headmaster?” he asked importantly.  
Harry had to hold back a snort as he watched in interest. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the expression on Moony’s face and he almost laughed aloud. This was far more entertaining then they thought it would be, no matter how serious the situation was.  
Dumbledore slowly started to circle the minister; his blue eyes hard as he eyed the smaller wizard. “Tell me, minister.” He finally spoke, “Why is it that there seems to be so much difficulty in your office to find the transcripts of a trial?”  
A bit of the bluster left the politician as he watched the powerful man circle him, much like one would watch a circling shark, “Ah..” he stuttered, “What trial would that be? Perhaps it is in the restricted files, then none of the office staff would have access without direct permission from me.”   
Harry shivered at the small smile that spread across the bearded face, “Maybe that is it.” Dumbledore answered softly, “But, there is one problem.”  
By now, the minister was all but trembling. He twisted his bowler hat in his hands and stuttered, “P..problem?”  
Dumbledore hummed in acknowledgment, “Yes, a problem.” He echoed, “You see, as chief Warlock, I have the authority to view any and all files on request, as you should well know. But this one particular set of files seems to be reluctant to be found.” His voice was light and almost slightly confused, but beneath was a layer of steal so cold that Harry did shiver this time. Damn, Dumbledore was even angrier then he thought he would be.  
Again, Fudge seemed to completely miss the threat as he visibly gathered himself and straightened his spine, “Now see h..here Dumbledore.” He declared, his whole act spoiled by the tremor in his voice, “This is clearly a m..minstry matter. Not a Hogwarts one. Nothing you should be concerning yourself abo….”  
Dumbledore’s soft voice cut him off, “In fact,” he continued, as if the man had not spoken at all, “It seems to be the general consensus within you office that these particular files do not exist in the first place.”  
Finally, the minister seemed to realise just how tense a situation he was in. his gaze snapped around the room once again and he gulped, not once did he try to deny knowledge of what the Headmaster was talking about.  
His shoulder seemed to droop as he gave in and Harry saw him visibly brace himself as if expected to be hexed into oblivion. “There are no transcripts.” He finally muttered. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and the man hurried to continue, “There are no transcripts, because there was no trial.” He blurted out, his face pale.   
Harry could feel Remus tense beside him and he turned his gaze to find the werewolf barely keeping himself from physically launching himself at the self important politician.   
“Can you perhaps tell me why?” the headmaster asked in a voice so cold that Harry wouldn’t have been surprised to see ice forming in the man’s beard.  
Fudge visibly flinched, “Er.. we didn’t s..see the need.” He defended, “There were over thirty witnesses to the attack on the muggles and Pettigrew. It was a cut and dry case.”  
Remus actually growled and Harry couldn’t hold back a snort of disgust, both reaction gaining them an unreadable look from the headmaster.   
Dumbledore shook his head and sighed. “I am sorry, my good Goblin.” He said, turning to Grapel who had been watching the whole situation with interest, “It seems as though we cannot finalise those papers at this time. Would it be possible to appoint Mr Lupin here as a temporary guardian until all of this can be sorted?”  
Harry almost fell off his chair, “What the heck?” his older soul yelped in his head.  
The Headmaster glanced at him, his blues eyes sparkling with something that Harry could not fathom, “I take it there was good reason to look into these matters.” He continued, this time watching Harry, “So I think it would be prudent to remove Harry from the Dursleys for the time being.”  
Harry tried to pull together a coherent response but the gravely voice of Grapel answered for him, “It can be done, financially.” the creature declared, “But in regards to Mr Potters custody, that is a ministry matter.”  
Dumbledore didn’t even have to turn to look at the minister, Fudge immediately was stammering out a response, “O..of course, Headmaster. If you deem it necessary to review Mr Potter’s living arrangements, that can be organised. B..but I am afraid that Mr Lupin does not qualify…” here Dumbledore whirled to face him and the man actually took a step back as he amended what ever he was going to say, “I mean, Mr Lupin would be suitable as a temporary guardian until this is all sorted out.” His voice almost squeaked, not that Harry could blame him. Merlins beard, Dumbledore could do intimidation when he needed to.  
The minister was summarily dismissed and he all but tripped getting to the fireplace to floo back to his office. Dumbledore stepped into the dying flames after him, turning to face Harry before he threw down the handful of powder. “I apologise, Harry, Remus.” He said softly, his eyes going to both of them, “It seems as though I have neglected more then I realised ten years ago. It is passed time those mistakes were rectified.” He tossed down the floo powder and spun away in a flash of green flames.  
Turning back to Grapel, Harry raised an eyebrow at the goblin as if to ask, so what now? The creature grinned at him and tapped his finger on the papers on his desk. There was a brief flash and Grapel nodded in satisfaction. “I have appointed Mr Lupin as your temporary guardian, Mr Potter.” He said gravely then grinned at the smile Harry gave him. “If that is all today Mr Potter.” He announced, turning his attention to the papers on his desk.  
Harry gave a short bow, still smiling, and left without a word. He knew that the Goblin was doing him a high honour going onto other business, as if Harry had more important things to do then be there. It was a sign of respect that he didn’t linger on formalities.  
Once outside the bank, Harry turned to Remus and grinned up at the man, “So, as my new guardian, are you going to allow me to look around Diagon Alley before we go home?” he asked cheekily.  
Remus snorted and gently slapped the back of his head, “Like I could dictate what you do.” He commented dryly, then his face became hopeful, “Do you think that the Headmaster will be able to get a trail for Sirius?”  
Harry shrugged and his grin got wider, “As angry as he was, I think that we might be seeing the mangy mutt even earlier then we thought.”  
The smile that spread across Remus’s face more then matched his own and he gave a short bow, “Well then,” he said jovially and Harry felt his heart warm at the lightness in the others tone, “How about we go have a ice cream to celebrate. After all,” here Remus winked at him and Harry snorted in laughter, “Sirius would never forgive me if I did not get you disgustingly sick on sweets the instant we managed to outdo that idiot Fudge.”  
So the two of them ended up spending the rest of the day on Diagon Alley, not doing anything in particular and sure as hell not thinking about the war that was coming. Instead they discussed all they were going to do once the last true member of the Marauders was once again with them. Harry all but glowed with happiness at Remus mentioning that the gang would all be complete once more. A Potter, Sirius and himself running together once more, as they were always meant to do. 

…………………………..

AN/ Sorry for any mistakes in this chapter, my proofreading is really off at the moment, but I don’t think there is any real big errors. Anyway, coming up we have another confrontation with the Dursleys and some more insight into what old Snake face is doing, so I hope you are all still reading, as it gets more interesting from here on out.

See Ya

Sil’vinya


	10. Rats and Snakes

  
Author's notes: Voldemort begins his move  


* * *

AN/ Hey there, big, big, huge sorry about the wait, this last couple months has been absolute hell trying to get anything done. I know this chapter is another shortish one but it will only be a couple more until they get to Hogwarts, so yeah. I put a brief summery at the start to brush you up on what has happened so far, skip it if you wish, other then that, I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Not Mine, nope.

Ch: 10 Rats and Snakes

Harry is devastated at the end of the war. Neither side has won and both he and Voldemort are reduced to their dregs. In a last ditch effort to end everything, with the pain of the deaths of all he knew, Harry turns his wand on himself sending the killing curse through his connection with Voldemort, taking them both out.  
Unfortunately, (or fortunately) the fates intervene. They tell him that the prophecy was sent as a test in order to regain the natural balance within the world. Only one soul was to be taken, not both of them he is given the option to go back to his younger self and start over, this time, along with his younger soul, they have the chance to set things right. Unknown to them thought, Voldemort is sent back as well and he plans to set things in motion as fast as he can, to continue their battle where they left off. Harry has gotten in contact with Remus and told him everything and with his help they have alerted the Headmaster about Sirius never having had a trail and they have set things in motion to get him freed. Harry has also uncovered the Potter mansion and after Remus is awarded temporary custody of him, they are preparing to move him out of the Durley's permanently and get him ready for the coming year.

Rats and Snakes

Once the two of them went back to the manor they sat in the study and discussed what their next move would be. It was clear by the headmaster’s actions that he knew something was going on even if he didn’t know what but it was also clear that he trusted them enough to tell him in their own time. “Or until he finds out everything on his own.” Part of Harry mused to himself. That in itself gave them time and with the headmaster onto the case of releasing Sirius, Harry figured he had time to work on the Voldemort problem.  
“The first thing we need to do is disassociate ourself from the Dursleys.” The spirit stated, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, Harry unconsciously mirroring the move. They were seated below Harold’s painting once more and Harry had projected the image of his second self to make it easier for them all to discuss the situation.  
Harry nodded at the spirits statement, his face thoughtful, “I agree,” he mused, “After all, like you said, as long as no one associates that house with us then there is no reason for the death eaters to target that area.” He pulled a sour face and scratched at his messy hair, “Not that I want to go back there anyway.” He muttered and the spirit chuckled softly in agreement. Remus merely looked between the two of them in bemusement and shook his head. “I don’t know if I should be alarmed or completely confused watching the two of you.” He mused. At the identical raised eyebrows he received he chuckled and explained, “I don’t know about you but the thought of a set of Potter twins leaves me more than a little apprehensive.”  
Harry snorted in amusement and shook his head, “Heh, speaking of twins, we have to get the Weasley twins on our side from the start. After all, they have the map, something that will come in handy I think.”  
Remus blinked at him then laughed, sitting back in his chair, “You mean that the map is still hanging around?” he asked incredulously, “I had wondered what would come of it after the old caretaker confiscated it from Sirius in our seventh year. Just as well he had no idea what it was otherwise he would have handed it over to the headmaster.”  
The older Harry shook his head, “Not really a bad thing,” he said in amusement, “After all it would have been a fair chance that the old man would have given it to me anyway. After all, he did give me dad’s cloak.”  
Remus stared at him in mock horror, “Do you mean to tell me that the Headmaster gave the son of the Marauders back one of the most important tools of the trade? Was the old man senile?”  
All three of them laughed at that and they were interrupted by a faint pop as Sissa appeared behind them, “I’s is sorry to interrupt, Master Harry sirs, but Tupik sent me to inform you’s and Master Remus that dinner will be served shortly.” She squeaked softly, bowing low. Harry smiled at the young elf and nodded his head, “Thank you, Sissa.” He told her kindly, “Let Tupik know that we will head over to the dinning room momentarily.”   
The small elf bowed again and vanished while Remus raised an eyebrow at Harry, “Momentarily? Rather high class language for one living with muggles don’t you think?”  
Harry snorted and jabbed his thumb at the projection of his older self, “Blame it on him.” He retorted, “He’s the one with all the weird different forms of protocol stuffed in his head.”  
There was a snort as the spirit vanished and his voice came out of Harry’s mouth, “Blame it on Malfoy for that particular trend.” He retorted, pushing himself to his feet, “After all, it was in response to his snide comments about the vulgarity of muggle raised wizards that prompted me to imitate his lofty attitude, just to piss him off.”  
Remus just shook his head as he followed him from the room.  
The next morning Harry came down to the dining room to find Remus already seated at the table a plate of toast and a cup of coffee in front of him. Glancing up over the rim of the paper he was reading he smiled at him, “You might want to take a look at this, Harry.” He held out the paper as Harry pulled up the chair beside him, “It looks as though the Headmaster is working fast on this one. I think maybe you made an impression on his yesterday.”  
Taking the paper from him, Harry read the Headline on the front page and felt his eyebrows disappear into his hairline.

“About time the Profit reported something useful.” His older soul snorted from the back of his mind.  
Harry hummed in agreement as the two of them read the short article.

Sirius Black Case Reopened  
Doubt Cast On Prisoners guilt

It has come to the attention of this publication that the case of Sirius Black is under investigation once again. As we all know, Sirius Black was sent to Azkaban prison ten years ago for the betrayal of Lily and James Potter leading to their deaths and the murder of Peter Pettigrew and over fifteen Muggles.  
Recent developments in the case have led to the reopening of the investigation as it has come to light that Sirius Black was never given a trail before being placed under Dementor guard in Azkaban.   
Is this the way that wizarding justice works? Are we to be locked away just because we are under suspicion?   
Could Sirius Black have been innocent all along?  
For more information on Blacks arrest and incarceration, see pages 3 & 4, for the full coverage given by the Profit at that time, see the subsequent re-release of old editions of the Profit available by owl order.

Harry sat back with a grin of satisfaction, “About time that stupid paper printed something useful.” He commented, handing the paper back to Remus.   
The Werewolf took it from him absently and picked up his coffee cup, “So what are you planning for today?’ he asked mildly.  
Harry glanced up at him and smiled slightly at the restrained hope in the mans eyes. Reading that article had finally managed to trigger the fact that Sirius was well on the way to being released but the man was still determined to keep his emotions in check. No that Harry could blame him, after all, the past few days have to have been more then a shake up for the poor werewolf, too much more and he might crack.   
Deciding to go along with Remus in not discussing the article, Harry answered the man’s question instead. “I think the first thing that needs to be done is to collect my things from the Dursleys and warn Aunt Petunia that she might want to keep an eye on what is going on. I though I would tell her to keep in touch with Mrs Figg, that way she can be kept abreast of anything that pertains to her, just in case. After that I thought that maybe you could help me to test my magic levels. We haven’t had a chance to see what changes the merge has made, if any, and we thought that it would be a good idea to have at least some idea of what to expect before we head off to school. It wouldn’t do to explode too many things when we first get there, even if they do expect it from the first years.”  
Remus laughed in agreement and they finished their breakfast talking about inconsequential thins until it was time to leave for the Dursleys.   
Harry made sure that he timed it so that Uncle Vernon had already left for work. He was determined to make sure that his aunt was apprised of what was coming and he did not want to have to talk over his uncle’s idiotic raving in order to do it.  
Both he and Remus had dressed in neat Muggle clothes before Harry had his new guardian apparate them to Privet Drive.   
Aunt Petunia met them at the door with her usual sour expression and Harry mentally rolled his eyes. Her griping had become more of a source of amusement in later years then anything else. After all, Vernon’s ravings were easy to ignore as they were the ignorant protestations of someone who had no idea what they were talking about. Aunt Petunia on the other hand had at least a brief idea of what she was complaining about but her griping stemmed mainly from the jealousy of her sister and later of her nephew being able to experience a world that she could never share in. In later years, after the war had spilled over into the muggle world as well, she had been much more understanding and her habitual complaining became more of a game between the two of them. They would never have been called a functional family, but at least the two of them could tolerate being in the same room together.  
As soon as she let the two of them in, Harry made his way up the stairs, leaving Remus to explain to his aunt what was going on.  
Stepping into his room, he looked around at the transformed space and snorted,   
“So, was this how you felt when you realised you never had to come back here or what?”  
There was the slight twist in his mind and the older Harry appeared,  
“Hmmm,” he commented, looking around the room as well, “I never really thought about it. By the time I left it had gotten to the point where there was no way that I was staying here any longer. When I was sent back here after seventh year because of the threats levelled against the Dursleys I thought I would scream. I had finally gotten free of them, then because of that irritating snake faced freak I was forced back here in order to protect their ungrateful arses.”  
Harry just snorted in agreement then proceeded to pack all his new belongings in his trunk. Looking around once he was done, he carefully scooped up Tabitha where she coiled on the mattress watching him and shrank down Hedwig’s perch to tuck into his pocket.   
“Is that everything?”  
Scanning the room one last time he nodded in satisfaction, “I think so, lets get down there and rescue the werewolf from Aunt Petunia. I haven’t heard any shrieking yet, so maybe she hasn’t decided to dice him up for dog meat.”  
Almost choking on his laughter, Harry skipped down the stairs and found his Aunt and Remus sitting at the kitchen table actually having a rather civil cup of tea.  
They both looked up as he entered, Remus with a slight smile, his aunt with a faint frown. Giving his Aunt a nod he slipped into one of the empty chairs and turned to Remus, “So what have you told her so far?” he asked straight out.  
Remus sat back in his chair and sighed, “I explained about the guardianship changeover and the fact that you are leaving, I thought that I would leave the rest to you, seeing as you know more about what is happening then I do.”  
Nodding once, Harry turned his attention to his Aunt, “Do you understand at all why I was placed in your care to begin with?” he asked her neutrally. He wanted to get through this with as little pain as possible and provoking his Aunt would not be the ideal way to go about that goal.  
Frowning slightly, the woman took a sip of tea, her pinched face testimony on how reluctant she was to discuss these matters, “From what was explained to me,” she started finally, “It has something to do with my relation to Lily. That barmy old man went on about some sort of blood protection not only for you but for my family as well if I took you into my home. He said in that letter of his that I had no choice in this matter as it was too dangerous not only to you but to me as well if it was found out that we were related to my sister but other then that, I have no real idea.”  
Harry nodded thoughtfully, that was about what he thought. Sitting back in his chair he studied his aunt carefully, trying to judge how receptive to his information she would be. Deciding that she would be glad to get rid of him one way or the other, he wasn’t going to sugar coat anything.  
“What Professor Dumbledore told you was the truth,” he began carefully, “But he did not tell you everything. What happened on the night that mum and dad died is very much the reason that you will need to be careful once I leave.” Looking her straight in the eye, he watched her eyes widen as he almost whispered the next words, “The wizard who killed them was after me.”   
A look of confusion came over her face and she shook her head almost mechanically, “But… you were only a baby, why…?”  
He smiled rather sadly at her, “The question of the century.” He said rather rhetorically, looking back up at her he noted her confusion and shook his head, “Never mind. The truth is there was a prophecy made that there would be born a child that would have the power to defeat him he targeted the two children that fit the criteria, me and another boy named Neville. Anyway, when he killed mum, she was protecting me, she gave up her life to save mine, in the process activating some very strong, very old magic. When Voldemort tried to kill me, her protections cast his curse back into his own teeth.” Harry could see a variety of emotions flitting across his aunt’s eyes, the horror at finally hearing how her sister died, shock that the target had been her young nephew, pain at realising exactly what she gave up when she rejected her sisters love and awe at what that love had accomplished. Harry smiled sadly at her, knowing that this was hitting her harder then she would ever admit. Deciding to let her sort through everything later, Harry continued, “The reason I was placed here was because Dumbledore placed protections on the house through some rather complicated blood magic. The protections cast by my mother were strengthened and expanded to cover my place of dwelling through your blood connection to her. The wizard who killed her was not killed that night, merely defeated and he will be back, it is only a matter of time. Not only that, but his servants are still free to take revenge if they ever find out where I am. With me leaving, there are good points and some not so good. I will no longer be placing a target on your roof, but on the other hand, once I leave, so do mum’s protections.”  
He watched as this information settled home and watched the faint frown of apprehension flit across her face. Before she could reply however, he reached into his pocket for something he had prepared as soon as he had planned on leaving. Sitting the round crystal on the table, he tapped it lightly, giving off a musical sound, “I am not leaving you unprotected.” He told her softly, “This is a warning crystal. I will place protection wards around the house that will remain even after the headmaster’s wards dissolve. They will act as a shield of sorts if there is ever trouble and this crystal will light up. I have a twin of it and it will alert me if anything is wrong, the shields will give me time to get you out of here.”  
Looking into his aunt’s eyes he tried to convey the seriousness of the situation, “All of this may not be necessary,” he told her softly, “I certainly will be looking to prevent it, but you need to be prepared. Keep in touch with Mrs Figg at all times, she will be your contact with the wizarding world,” if this hadn’t been so serious he would have laughed at the look of shock on his aunts face, “If you ever need to get hold of me, she will be able to help you.”  
Petunia stared at him in silence for a long moment then shook her head, “What has happened to you,” she finally said softly, “You have changed.”  
Harry just sighed, “I just acme into some information of what is actually going on.” He answered her, “There are many things that I could explain to you that you would never comprehend but the simple matter is that there are things going on that even Dumbledore is not aware of.”  
Petunia nodded in understanding and reached out to take the crystal, “You will be alright on your own then?” she asked him softly and he smiled at this first sign of concern he had ever had from her.  
Rising to his feet he reached out to clasp her hand softly, “Yes, Aunt Petunia, I’ll be fine. Just remember to keep your eyes open and contact me if there is anything wrong.”  
With that, he and Remus left her sitting at the kitchen table and Harry walked out the front door of the Dursleys, never to enter the place as a resident ever again.

In a decrepit inn located in an out of the way village far to the north, a pale set of eyes scanned the article on the front page of the Daily Prophet, “It seems you are moving fast, Potter.” A faint voice, dripping with malice hissed. Rising from the table, the tall, thin figure knelt down by the crumpled body on the floor. Pushing aside the ridiculous turban the man was wearing, he drew his pale finger down the still forehead, “How about we leave a message for the Boy-Who-Lived.” The voice hissed again. Picking up a gleaming silver dagger, he carved a sign into the forehead of his late host, a sign his opponent was sure to recognise. Then climbing to his feet, he had his new host pull back the sleeve of his robe. Using the same knife, he had the man drive the point into the black brand on his left arm, all the while hissing an incantation under his breath. He may not be able to summon his followers as he once was able, but there were a few fail safes he had worked out in later years, if he had ever found himself in this situation again, fail safes that he now put into practice. He put in the summons for the man, who had been uniquely situated the first time round, but this time would be compromised, he put in a call for the one who had been responsible for his resurrection.

Unfolding the morning Profit, the red headed wizard scanned the headlines as he listed to his wife calling for their hoard of children to come to breakfast, as they took seats around the table he almost swore in shock, “Molly dear, listen to this.” He called. He read the article out and his wife sunk into one of the clear chairs, shock evident on her face, “Is it possible?” she almost whispered. He shook his head as he read through the rest of the information, “It certainly seems possible.” He answered, “I t looks as though the Headmaster is the one who initiated the investigation.”  
Molly shook her head, her hand over her heart as tears came to her eyes, “Oh my.” She whispered, “Oh Sirius.” The children all looked at each other in confusion and shrugged, none of them knowing what was going on.  
The youngest boy however frowned in confusion as the lump in his pocket shivered in fear, taking the grey rat out and setting it on the table he studied it carefully, “Hey mum,” he called, “Something is wrong with Scabbers.” Glancing over at him she sighed in exasperation, “Ron, get that rat off the table. If there is something wrong with him we will take him to get looked at when we head to Diagon Ally. Now, all of you eat your breakfast, before it gets cold.”  
Later that morning, while the boys were outside doing their chores, the plain grey rat sat on the desk in the youngest boy’s room and panicked.   
“If Sirius is still sane after all this time, then he will tell them everything, I have to get out of here.” He thought frantically. He ran through his head all of the hiding places he’d had prepared ten years ago, discarding them one after the other until a crippling pain shot through his body almost making him topple off the desk. In panicked shock he looked around to make sure that the boy was still outside then shifted into the form of a short, balding man. With a trembling hand, he pushed back the sleeve of his robe and almost fainted. There on the skin of his left arm, the sign that had stood faded for ten years burned black and ugly once more. With a deep feeling a horror and fear, the rat turned man disappeared with a crack in answer to his master’s summons.


	11. Lurking Menace

  
Author's notes: With the start of term looming, as well as the trial for Sirius, Harry and his older incarnation test the difference in their magic. Meanwhile, voldemort contemplates his next move.  


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AN/ Hello everyone, I know this has been along time in coming and is only a short chapter this time, I am sorry. Hit a road block for a while on this one, I have the trial and the sorting and everything later all planned out, it is just the bit between now and then that is giving me trouble. Oh well, here we are with the next part.

AN2/ Gaahh I have had this done for ages but FF.net won’t let me upload. I’ll keep trying though.

Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine. Belongs to J K Rowling and always will.

Ch 11: Lurking Menace

With only a week left until the start of term the spirit decided they should test out the limits of their magic to determine if it had changed due to the merger. The manor had a training room in the West wing that was layered with shielding spells and reinforced walls, making it a perfect place to work.

Looking down at the wand in his hand, Harry ran his fingers thoughtfully over the smooth wood then glanced at the pile of cushions that Remus had gathered for him. Giving the twist with his mind the spirit appeared beside him and the two of them studied the bright pile, Harry with a curious, slightly thoughtful look, the spirit a slight frown of contemplation. 

“I think that it might be a good idea for us to test if there is any difference in our control if me, you or both of us are in control.” The spirit finally mused.

Harry glanced up at him then nodded when he read the spirits reasoning. He was concerned that if anything happened to silence him at some point that the younger soul would have the same grasp on their power. The projection shimmered and vanished and the spirit’s voice came from the back of his mind once again.  
“We’ll do it together first. Not only to test if there is a significant increase with the two of us combined but it will give you a chance to feel how to perform the spell first hand.”

Harry relaxed his mind and the two of them combined once again. Looking over at the pile of cushions once again, he raised his wand and gave the practices swish and flick of the levitation charm, muttering the incantation to himself in his mind. The cushion he indicated rose smoothly into the air to hover at head height with little effort. Letting the charm go, the spirit separated himself once again and nodded thoughtfully.

“Looks as though there was a bit of an increase in power.” He mused thoughtfully, “Not enough for it to be a problem with control I think, at least not on my end. And as you have not been trained as of yet anyway it should not be too much of an issue for you to get used to this level of power right from the start.” 

He felt the curiosity in the mind he shared and smiled, “Normally your magic grows with you” he explained, “But in this case you have had it thrust upon you at full strength. You are going to need to learn the spells without relying on my memories in case something goes wrong, but I don’t think it is going to be too much of an issue.” 

Blocking off his memories form his younger self, the spirit took a mental step back surrendering all control over to his younger self. “Try the charm that we just did. Remember the incantation and wand movement, although you can say it aloud. Technically you are not supposed to learn silent casting until sixth year.”

Harry nodded and raised his wand once more. It felt decidedly odd not having the other mind guiding him but he understood the necessity of his learning to do this on his own. Flicking the wand the same way he remembered, he clearly stated the incantation but as he did, he knew straight away that it wasn’t right. The pillow before him burst into a puff of feathers and the spirit snorted in amusement. 

“Do you know what you did wrong?” he asked.

Harry frowned down at his wand thoughtfully and recalled the feeling of the spell from earlier, “I think so.” He answered absently. Raising his wand again he tried again, this time changing the angle of his wand slightly. This time the cushion almost shot to the ceiling and he dropped the charm with yelp, stumbling back in case this one exploded as well. 

The spirit laughed outright and Harry glared over at his projection, sending an irritated jab at the presence in the back of his head. “Don’t worry Harry.” He chuckled, “This is what I was talking about when I mentioned that you would have to adjust to having you power thrust on you full force. Normally this charm is the first you learn as it is one that requires control more then anything. You must learn how much power to put behind it. Too much and the object blows up or shoots through the roof, too little and nothing happens. Try again, but this time concentrate on feeling the amount of power you are channeling through your wand. Try to balance the power with the weight of the cushion just enough to lift it from the floor.”

Trying once more, Harry turned his concentration inward as instructed and saw at once what the other was talking about. He could almost see the power he was using. Grasping hold of the stream he siphoned off the power to a mere trickle that he fed into his wand, flicking the wand carefully, he repeated the incantation once more. This time the cushion rose slowly into the air only wobbling slightly. He held it there for a few moments until the strain got too much and he dropped it before dropping to sit on the floor.   
“Better, but you held onto the power too tightly. You need to control the flow, yes, but still need to allow the power to flow smoothly. That is enough for the moment, but if you would step back, we can see what my control is like. I haven’t had to contend with an eleven year old form in a long time and I would not want to hurt us.”

Nodding wearily, Harry stepped back in his own mind and felt the spirit slide into his place. This was the first time that the spirit had taken full control and it was decidedly odd for a few moments as he got accustomed to a much smaller frame. Flicking the wand around in his fingers he jumped on the spot for a few seconds then turned his attention to the pile of cushions once more. Lifting the wand he flicked it with ease and whispered the spell in his mind. Over the years the levitation spell had come in handy in many ways and he was careful to block the memories of some of the uses he had put the rather innocent spell to from his younger partner. But because of that, he had learnt to channel the energy behind this spell until it was almost an art form. In response to his prompting five brightly coloured cushions rose into the air and suspended themselves at different heights. 

Studying them thoughtfully for a moment he raised his arms slowly and almost lazily flicked his wand, looking almost like a conductor.   
By combining a constant stream of alternating, low level, banishing and summoning charms he soon had the cushions circling the room at different heights and different orbits. The exercise was one he had come up with after leaving school, it took concentration and control to pull off and he soon lost himself in the motions. A startled gasp from the doorway broke his concentration and he swung without thinking, his wand pointing towards the intruder and the cushions suddenly tensed to be used as missiles, ready to strike from five different directions. 

The sight of Remus’s startled face and the frantic jab from the younger presence in his mind snapped Harry out of his trance and he cursed softly as the cushions thumped to the ground. He shuddered slightly and separated his projection allowing his younger self take control of their body once more. 

“Sorry about that Moony.” He sighed, brushing back his fringe, a gesture his younger self imitated, their connection being close enough now that certain habits expressed by either mind could influence their shared body.

Remus just laughed in understanding and entered the room. “Not at all.” He commented softly, “I gather that I need to be careful when you are practicing. I should have thought of that and I apologise.”  
The spirit raised an eyebrow and again his younger self copied and Remus chuckled at the mirror expressions, “First off,” he stated, “I lived with two Aurors during the first war, and secondly I am a werewolf, I am well aware of how ones reflexes tend to be on a hair trigger if one is startled. I just forgot to attribute that caution to a young child. I’m still coming to grips with the fact that there is a war veteran living inside that eleven year old body.”

“Never mind, old friend.” The spirit dismissed, “It is interesting from our point of view as well. I find myself acting more like a child then I have in years, it is rather disconcerting.”

Harry shifted his feet uncomfortably, “Sorry.” He muttered, not entirely sure what he was apologising for. But a wave of reassurance came from his other half.

“It’s fine. More then fine really. I rather like that my responses are mixing with yours. It makes life a lot brighter then what I had experienced in the last few years.”

This time the reassurance came from the younger Harry and Remus watched the two of them, a sad smile of understanding on his face. “I just noticed,” he commented softly, “The two of you balance each other out. Rather like flip sides of the same coin. I actually cannot really imagine one of you without the other, you would just seem incomplete.”

The Spirit chuckled softly, “Maybe your right.” He conceded. “Anyway, what was it you were looking for us for, has something happened?”

Remus actually slapped his forehead in exasperation, “Sorry, I thought you would want to take a look at this.” He reached into his jacket and drew out that days’ copy of the Prophet. As he handed it over, Harry drew in the projection and read over the title on the front page, his eyebrow almost disappearing into his hairline.

Trail date for Sirius Black Decided.

“The twenty fifth of August? That is the week before school starts.” The spirit mused. Harry nodded in agreement, “Do you think that they will allow us to attend?” he asked hopefully. The spirit ran his hand through their hair and scanned through the article, “I don’t know about them allowing us,” he mused, completely ignoring the amused expression on Remus face as he watched them switch back and forth without even realising they were doing it, “There is no way that I am going to miss out on seeing Fudge get pulled over the coals. He may not have been in office when Sirius was arrested but he was the one who initiated the whole man hunt once he escaped and he is the one who tried to pin everything one either him or me over the years. Remus, if you don’t stop snickering I am going to curse you.”

He turned his eyes up to see the werewolf almost hunched over in mirth, breathing heavily to keep from laughing.

“I’m sorry,” he gasped finally, “But that is one of the most bizarre conversations I have witnessed in a long time. You had better make sure you don’t do that at school or they are going to lock you in a secure ward in Saint Mungo’s.” 

He regained control of himself and shook his head, “Anyway, the issue of you attending has already been decided. Here.” He held out an official looking role of parchment bearing the wax seal of the ministry of magic, “Official summons to attend the trail of one Sirius Black.” He explained as Harry broke the seal and scanned the document, “I got one as well, looks as though the Headmaster was serious when he said he was going to try to set a few things right. At least he will have a few friends in the crowd.” This last was said almost to himself, his voice heavy with regret.   
Harry reached up and grasped his shoulder in sympathy, “Don’t worry Moony.” He said softly, both souls uniting in an effort to comfort their friend, “We’ll get the old dog back, just you see. We have the Headmaster behind us on this one.”  
Looking up at the clock over the door, straightened his robes and flipped his wand back into the holster on his wrist, “Come on, let’s go get something to eat.” He advised, leading the way from the training room.

……………………………….

Slinking along in the shadows, the cloaked figure kept a close watch on the street he traversed, slipping from shadow to shadow until he reached the run down inn that he was using to work out of. Sending a dark glare from under his low hood at the proprietor as he made his way us the stairs to his room, he closed the door on the outside world and sank into the rickety chair before the small fireplace. A large snake slithered out from under the bed to coil around his feet, the head slipping up into his lap. Running a slim finger over the snakes smooth scales, the presence brooding in the hosts head ran over everything that had to be done before he confronted his archenemy once more. “I need to shift the Horcruxes.” He hissed to himself as he absently stroked the snake that lay across his lap, “There are a couple out of reach at the moment, namely the one in Hogwarts. But I should be able to collect the locket and the ring without too much trouble. As for the diary….” He mused over the situation for a moment then chuckled, “As amusing as it would be to have Lucius plant the thing on the Weasley whelp again, the brat will be on the look out for it. I am going to have to get that one back as well. Not to mention the one I left in dear Belatrix’s safe keeping. The ring I can collect without too much trouble, but the locket I am going to need to find a sacrifice to drink the poison.” Running his fingers over the smooth wood of his own phoenix feather wand that he had collected that very night from where it had lay hidden for the last ten years, he mused over the ritual that had brought him back to life the last time. He was going to have to come up with a different plan this time as there was no way that the boy was going to fall for that a second time. Over the years that they had chased each other they had both learnt much and if there was one thing that Harry Potter had learnt it was to be cunning. As much as it had galled him to admit it, even Voldemort himself had to admit that the boy had been a worthy adversary over the years. There was also another matter that would need to be seen to, namely the elimination of a certain spy. The Malfoy brat was another issue. The boy might still be of some use if he was handled carefully, but Snape on the other hand. “Ah, my dear Serverus.” He hissed to himself, “You played me for a fool for many years. But not this time. I wonder…” sliding his finger down Nagini’s long body, he sneered, “Can I take you out before the boy realises I am here? Or shall I watch as the brat tries to protect everyone he lost the last time round. It might be amusing to see how he goes about the matter. It might also be interesting to see who he forgets.”   
Staring into the flickering flames, the spirit that was once, and would soon be again Lord Voldemort plotted the resurrection of his body, the elimination of a few choice traitors and the downfall of one Harry James Potter once and for all.

Sitting in the shadows off to one corner, a small, rat faced man shivered in fear. The man that had confronted him on his arrival did not have the features of his master but his dark mark had burned, confirming his master’s presence. The man had sneered at him then shifted the hood from his head, revealing the snakelike face fused to his skull. At that point, all hope in Wormtail’s mind that he would be able to hide away for the rest of his life had been dashed. And now, here he was, crouched in the corner of his master’s room watching as the man brooded and planned, wondering what was in store for him in order for him to assist his master in restoring him to his former glory and might. One thing was for sure, at the moment he would rather face his master with the possibility of being some use, no matter how small, then to run into his two ex friends who, from what he had read in the paper about the upcoming trial, would very soon be out for his blood. 

………………..

Setting his fork down, Harry reached up and rubbed at his scar, a puzzled frown on his face. Across from him, Remus looked up from his own meal and blinked, “Is everything alright?” he asked in concern.  
Harry shook his head thoughtfully, “I’m not entirely sure.” He mused, “Before hand I was never able to sense old Voldy’s presence unless he was close by and feeling particularly vindictive, but for some reason I have been getting twinges from the link for the past few weeks. I thought perhaps it was something to do with merging my two souls, maybe it had enhanced my sensitivity slightly, but now I am not too sure.”  
Pushing back his empty plate, he sat back and watched as Remus finished his meal and pushed his plate away as well. “So what are you planning to do?” he asked finally.  
Harry sighed and drew his hand through his hair, “I’m not real sure.” He admitted, “The best thing would be to arrange to collect the Horcruxes as soon as possible but that is going to be difficult to do as an eleven year old. It would also be hard to keep it from the Headmaster as well. Not only that but there is still information that the old man has that I think I might need. I was never able to find the final piece of his soul, was never able to finish it.” He stared blankly at the table as the house elves cleared away the empty dishes, “There is still so much that I am missing.” He mused. Shaking his head he straightened up, “Anyway, there is no rush just yet. Voldemort didn’t make his move until later in the year, so we have time yet.”  
It wasn’t until later, when Remus had gone to bed and Harry sat staring into the fire that his younger self caught onto something they had missed. “Hang on,” he stated softly, staring hard into the fire, “You said that Voldemort didn’t make his move until later in the year.”  
“That’s right.” Curiosity came from the older soul as he tried to follow his younger partners reasoning.  
“That is not right.” He stated thoughtfully, “The first move old snake face made according to what you showed me was to break into Gringotts after the Philosophers Stone, but we have not heard of the break in at all, have we?”  
The older soul was silent for a full minute before he swore softly, “You’re right,” he hissed, “I totally missed it. What in Merlins name is going on?”

…………………….

AN/ Ok few points here; I will be using a few points from book seven but not much, mainly what I was planning to use anyway and that just happened to be in the last book as well, heh. Coming up next is the trial so hang on to your hats for that one. Again sorry for the wait and double sorry for the short chapter. Also, thank you all for your reviews if I haven’t thanked you personally. I hope you all continue to enjoy. Heh, Harry has started to become suspicious (about time).


	12. Trials and tribulations

  
Author's notes: trial rime for Sirius  


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AN/ Here we are, finally. Excuse the lateness, my computer hates me. I lost this chapter twice and had to rewrite it, then the internet wouldn’t work. Gaah. Well, hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: all the property of someone else, except parts of the plot of course.

 

Ch 12: Trials and Tribulations

The scant few days notice they were given for the trial did nothing to quell the nervousness that the residents of Potter Manor were suffering, so when the morning of the trial finally dawned, they were all a little worse for wear.  
Harry had managed, through much persuasion from both his souls, to bully Remus into accepting the new robes he had brought him and was dressed himself in the green and gold dress robes he had brought on his first shopping trip.  
He also had Tabitha wrapped around his wrist. When Remus had questioned him about bringing the snake along, Harry had sent him a rather devious smirk, the older soul answering for the two of them, “Simply put, my dear Moony, we are going for shock value. Same reasoning behind the robes, I’m looking to throw a few people off kilter. They all have an image of me in their minds, and I want to start working on breaking that as soon as possible.” His face went pensive for a moment and Remus was again startled by the contrasting expressions on that young face depending on which soul was in control, “Trust me, it will be much easier later on if we can shake them now. That concrete image they have caused more trouble then it was worth. If I can gradually work away at it, they may not be so shocked at some of the things I do later. Trust me when I say that shocking the public when you are trying to keep them safe is not exactly productive. They tend not to cooperate when needed, which can lead to trouble.” A dark look filtered through those green eyes and Remus blinked. The only one he had seen that expression on was Severus Snape, not a pleasant thought.

So as it was, the two (Three) of them met with the Headmaster outside of the courtroom dressed in high quality robes and drawing many curious glances. Remus was dressed in deep midnight blue robes that had shimmering frosting around the hem that looked like moonlight on the surface of a lake. The effect was not lost on the werewolf who actually liked the pattern, after all it wasn’t as if he had much of a chance to see the real thing. Next to him, Harry was elegant in deep green, Tabitha, who was now wrapped visibly about his neck, matching the green and gold of his robes perfectly.   
And Albus Dumbledore was beside them in the deep plum robes as head of the Wizengamot. He had met them at the entrance to the Atrium and had walked down with them, offering his silent support, something Harry had appreciated, but he hadn’t missed the speculative looks the old man had been throwing his way either. The Headmaster apparently suspected something, but the older soul shrugged it off;  
‘After all,’ he commented to his younger self when the other had sent a stab of inquiry about the amusement he had felt coming form the back of his mind, ‘It is not like we are going to be keeping it from him forever. We’ll see how all this plays out first and then set about working out how to inform him of the situation. Once we have Sirius free and with the protections set up at Aunt Petunia’s we can concentrate on where we need to go next.’

The amount of people that had gathered for the trial had surprised him at first but them he had shook his head remembering that at this stage, the fear that had ruled the wizarding community in later years had not even touched anyone yet. As far as most of the people here knew, Voldemort was gone for good and this was merely an interesting bit of gossip material on how the ministry had screwed up in the past.

The door boomed open behind him and he barely held back from drawing his wand as he spun to face the disturbance, nearly dropping into a fighting crouch, only held back by the hand that Remus placed on his shoulder. He threw a sheepish look up into the man’s amused eyes at his tightly wound reflexes and consciously relaxed his muscles from the battle ready state they had flown into despite his younger body not having the experience behind it that his older mind remembered. The training that they had been doing was bringing much of his old reflexes to his younger self. A thing that comforted the older soul as he knew that if he had to take over, his younger body would be able to keep up with his mind, but it did make for some embarrassing situations when he was startled, something that Remus was starting to appreciate. 

A soft cough to the other side of him drew his gaze up to the slightly calculating blue eyes of the Headmaster and Harry felt himself blush, knowing that his reaction had triggered the Headmaster’s curiosity.   
Nodding his head towards the open door, the old wizard swept a hand indicating they should proceed him, “Shall we?” he asked mildly, his eyes still studying Harry as the two of the nodded to him then stepped into the courtroom.   
Harry looked around as he and Remus were seated off to the left hand side of the room in the front row of seats usually reserved for witnesses in normal trail settings. He mentally rolled his eyes at the fact that the two of them were the only ‘witnesses of the defence’ where there were a number of people on the prosecutors side of the room, including the oh so prestigious Minister of Magic, though what he could possibly offer in the case, Harry had no idea.

The room was one of the larger courtrooms, owing to the fact that this trial was being widely publicised. After all, we were talking about the notorious Sirius Black here.   
The gallery was steadily filling and after a moment, the Purple robed forms of the Wizengamot filed in to take their seats along the dividing wall that faced the single seat in the centre of the room.   
Beside him, he could hear Remus growl softly at the sight of the chains looped around that chair and he feared that he might have to restrain the man when they brought Sirius out.   
It looked as though they were going to go through the prosecutors case first though, as the Minister stood at the podium and shuffled a stack of papers in front of him but no move was made to bring in the accused. 

Once the noise settled down, Minister Fudge cleared his throat and Harry had to hold back on rolling his eyes as the pompous man brushed at the front of his pinstriped robe and gazed around at the gathering, a faint smirk on his face. “Everyone come to order.” He announced haughtily, his nose a bare fraction from rising into the air. 

There was a faint shuffling as everyone settled then the man nodded once, before turning his attention to the gathered members of the Wizengamot. “Masters and Mistresses, this trial has been gathered today to address the accusations of misconduct by this august body in the past, I would like to call to attention the fact that…..”

He was cut off by an elderly wizard who sat two seats down from the Headmaster, “Get on with it Fudge,” the old man growled, “We know why we are here. This has nothing to do with the Ministry at present. We are here solely to ascertain the gilt of one Sirius Black. If it turns out the man is innocent and wishes to press charges against false imprisonment, then we will address the issue.”

Fudge flushed slightly and Harry had to hold back a snicker as the man lost some of his bluster. The man finally regained his composure and after clearing his throat once again, he started from a different angle, “Yes, of course. Then, in view of that fact, I would like to call forward Auror Macness as he was in charge of the division that arrested Black that day.”

What followed was a slew of Aurors, Ministry workers and so called eye witnesses, that all gave their interpretations of the event and Harry felt himself grow more and more annoyed as time went on. His younger soul thought the whole thing a complete farce as they were all talking about an event that happened ten years ago as if it were yesterday, but their accounts all matched way too much to be true. The older soul was almost fuming, ‘This is ridiculous.’ He sneered in the back of their shared head, ‘This is all hearsay and nonsense, none of it matters.’

Eventually he had enough and pushing the younger soul out of the way, took control of their body. Rising to his feet, he interrupted yet another account of someone witnessing the street explode and Sirius being dragged away by the Aurors. “I think that this is just about enough.” He stated coldly.   
His voice wasn’t loud but still carried throughout the room and all eyes turned in his direction. Fudge stuttered then glowered at him, “Mr Potter, I would thank you to retake your seat.” He demanded.

Harry stared at him coolly then turned his attention to the Wizengamot members, bypassing the man as the insignificant annoyance that he was. “This entire trail is a farce.” He declared softly, ignoring the gasps throughout the room and the strangled sound coming from the werewolf beside him. 

The old man that had spoken out against Fudge was the one that answered him, “Young man,” he growled, “I would think that you would have more respect. This is no place for children to act out. Sit back down so we may continue or you will be removed along with your guardian.”

Harry narrowed his eyes and shifted his bearing to the aristocratic stance of the Head of one of the old Pureblood families that he was, “I would thank you sir not to insult my intelligence.” He declared evenly and had the satisfaction of seeing many of their eyes widen at his tone, “We are here to ascertain the guilt of one man, not to hear the account of events from dozens of people that have no bearing in this matter. The only account that we require is that of the accused himself.”

Fudge seemed to regain his voice as he blustered at him, “That is ridiculous, as if we would believe the account of a convicted murder. Sit down boy,” 

Harry turned his cold glare on him and the man actually gulped back whatever else he was going to say, “That is what Veritasirum is for.” Harry stated, as if he was speaking to a three year old.  
There was muttering in the crowd and Harry turned his attention back to the Wizengamot. Dumbledore was watching him carefully and there were a few expressions of curiosity being directed at him. 

An older witch off to one side shook her head, “I am afraid that the use of Veritaserum at a trail such as this has not been in practice wince the Death Eater Trails ended.” She stated, “It was ruled as an invasion of the prisoners rights and was discontinued.”

Harry had to hold back from rolling his eyes, why did they have to make everything so difficult? “Madam, if that is the case, then I claim right of Kin,” there was louder mutterings at this and Dumbledore’s eyes narrowed slightly in surprise, “As the Godson of Sirius Black and in his absence, I claim right of Legal Proceedings in his name and give permission for Veritaserum to be used to ascertain his innocence.”

Harry caught the Headmasters gaze and nodded his head slightly at the faint note of respect he saw beneath the speculation as the rest of the Wizengamot muttered amongst themselves. Finally, the old woman spoke up again as the other settled back in their seats, “Very well,” she proclaimed, waving her hand at on of the Aurors standing at the door, “Bailiff, bring in the accused.”

Harry sat back down in his seat, but the older soul remained in control, standing ready in case something happened. He also reached over and gripped Remus by the arm, knowing that the appearance of his old friend was going to rattle the werewolf, even through he had seen through Harry’s memories what imprisonment had done to the man.

He was right to do so, because as soon as they led Sirius in the room, Remus tried to lunge to his feet but was tangled up by Harry’s small body where he threw himself across the werewolf’s lap.  
Sirius was shackled and his head was lowered as they dragged him forward, but his outward appearance was bad enough. His long hair was a matted as Harry remembered, even though this was fully two years before the man had escaped in his time line. His filthy prison robes were tattered and what they could see of his frame was almost skeletal under the rags and dirt. More then one person flinched back as he was led into the room, many of them still fearing his presence, even though they were aware of the doubt about his guilt and Harry could hear and feel Remus whimper from his position of being clasped against the mans chest. Not that he really minded, he knew that this friend needed the support.  
Sirius was dragged over to the chair in the centre of the room and shoved down into it and Harry had to bite back a protest as the chains snaked their way tightly about the man’s skinny frame, binding him in place.

Once the Aurors stepped back, Sirius finally raised his head and many in the room bit back gasps at the turbulent darkness in the slightly glazed eyes. Remus gave a sound suspiciously like a sob and Harry gripped his hand in reassurance, knowing that as bad as Sirius looked, his mind was still largely intact. He also bit back another objection as it was clear that they hadn’t given Sirius anything to make him more alert to what was going on.   
The woman who had called for Sirius to be brought in nodded to Fudge for him to continue the proceedings and the minister gestured for the truth serum to be administered, his expression showing that he was not pleased at the direction that this whole situation was going.

It didn’t take long for the glazed eyes to blank over completely and the strained face to go still and Harry gripped Remus’s hand again as the man shifted in distress.  
Fudge stared down at the prisoner in distaste then nodded to the scribe off to the side that had been taking note of the proceedings to indicate that he was ready to continue.

“Prisoner, for the record, please state your name.” he demanded coldly.  
Sirius’s voice rasped harshly through the room as he replied, his tone dull due to the truth serum, “Sirius Orion Black.”  
A slight sneer crossed the ministers face, but fell away as he continued, “Were you or were you not, friends with one James and one Lily Potter, both deceased.”  
There was no reaction form Sirius to the question, although Remus growled softly, the noise covered by Sirius’s rasped, “I was.”  
Harry narrowed his eyes at the slightly shifty expression on the ministers face as the man nodded once, he was up to something with this. “Ten years ago, were you or were you not named as secret keeper in the effort to protect Mr and Mrs Potter and their small son.” Again came the raspy answer of “I was.” And Harry could see where this was going. The man was anxious to save face so he was going to ask his questions carefully so as to paint Sirius in the worst light, not once out and out asking if he was the one responsible. He growled in his own mind and listened as the questioning continued,

“After the Potters were killed, did you set out after one Peter Pettigrew, meeting him in an alley way some time later that day.?”

“I did.”

“And where your intentions to kill said Mr Pettigrew after you found him.”

“Yes.”

There were gasps at this and Harry simmered in anger as he slowly rose to his feet. The satisfied smirk on the ministers face slipped as he caught sight of Harry’s expression but he pulled himself up to deliver an ultimatum against his interference again but Harry cut him off, “Sirius Black, when were you relieved of your post of secret keeper for the Potters?” The room went still in shock at the question and Fudge went white as Sirius voice rasped through the now silent courtroom, “One week before they were killed.”

“Did you turn them over to Voldemort?”

He ignored the shocked exclamations around the room at his use of the Dark Lords name, concentrating on Sirius’s answers;

“No.”

“Why did you change secret keepers in the first place?”

“James was afraid that I would be targeted for the information so we decided to use me as a misdirection,” the flat tone of voice caused by the veritaserum gave the accounting a cold edge that had many shivering in spite of them selves, “We decided that we would change keepers but not inform any one therefore keeping the keeper safe and making sure that I could not give anything away if I was captured.”

Harry nodded then dropped the question everyone was now wondering, “So who was secret keeper if it wasn’t you?”

“Peter Pettigrew.” 

There was an uproar at that and the ministers voice cut through it with a crow of triumph, “And so you killed Pettigrew, you admit to motive. You may not be responsible for the betrayal of the Potters but you still stand accused of murder.”

The wind went out of his sails however as Sirius answered the accusation flatly, “No, I did not kill the little rat. I met him in that alley and he panicked at being cornered. He screamed at me saying that I killed them then blasted the street behind him before turning into a rat and running down the sewers. The little creep cut off his own finger to fake that he had died in the explosion and bolted.”

One of the Wizengamot members raised his voice over the noise and demanded, “Are you saying that Pettigrew is still alive?”

“Yes.”

Pandemonium erupted and the minister grew more an d more flustered as he lost complete control of the situation. It didn’t last long however, as Albus Dumbledore rose to his feet, instantly silencing everyone in the room without casting a single spell.   
“I think that was can end this with a few pointed questions.” He said into the sudden silence, “Mr Black, are you now or have you ever been a Death Eater?”

“No.”

“Have you ever worked in any shape or form for Voldemort.” Again there were exclamations around the room at the sound of the name but the Headmaster, like Harry ignored it;

“No.”

“Did you commit any of the crimes that you were imprisoned for?”

“No.”

With a nod of satisfaction, Dumbledore straightened his robes and addressed the rest of the Wizengamot, “I think that about wraps things up here, don’t you?” the others either nodded or snorted in disgust at the whole situation, “Very well, I hereby declare Sirius Black cleared of all charges against him and reinstate his assets into his control once more. Mr Black, you are free to go, if you wish to demand compensation for your wrongful imprisonment then please make your requests through the appropriate channels. This trial in adjourned.” 

Remus gave a whoop of joy and vaulted over the wall to rush to his friend, Harry not far behind him. It was clear when they reached the man, that he had no idea what was going on around him. He was just shaking off the effects of the truth serum but was still dazed from the dementors that he had only just been removed from.

Harry carefully checked in his eyes, making sure that the veritaserum wasn’t having any adverse reactions and he nodded to Remus, clearing the worry in the others expression, “He’ll be alright, he just needs a lot of rest and a few nutrition potions as well as a few square meals some where well away from Dementors.”

He turned to look around the room and caught sight of the Headmaster watching them from the doorway. He nodded in answer to the question in the mans eyes, knowing that the time to speak with the man was fast approaching and the Headmaster nodded in return, turning to leave the room, no doubt to go an investigate further into what had happened to get Sirius arrested in the first place. He didn’t make it out the door however, as a young aid rushed into the room, his face pale and his eyes alighting on first the Headmaster then Harry. “Headmaster Dumbledore, sir, Mr Harry Potter?”

The two of them stepped forward and the aid held out a large picture. It didn’t matter if it was a wizarding photograph or not as it soon became clear that the man in it was clearly dead, but that wasn’t what stopped both of them cold. Harry knew that the Headmaster was shocked at the victims identity but Harry however was frozen by what was carved into the bodies forehead. 

His older soul shivered in shock, not knowing what to make of the familiar sign. There was no way that this was possible. There, carved into the middle of the late Professor Quirrell’s forehead, was a lighting bolt, the mirror image of his scar. In the later years if the war, Voldemort had done that to taunt him with the deaths of those he had been unable to save. At the sight of it here, on the body of the person that Harry knew had contact with the disembodied form of the freak, in a time well before the fight had gotten that personal, he felt the bottom fall out of his world.   
Everything spun as he gasped for breath, it just was not possible, there was no way that he was here. The last thought that ran through his head as everything went black was that the conversation with the Headmaster had just become a priority. Things had just entered the realm of very bad.  
……………………………………………….

AN/ Heh heh, guess what he figured out? Volde has thrown down the gauntlet. I was going to leave this until later, but I felt that we needed to kick this up a notch. If I had the two of them working around behind each others backs it would become pretty boring pretty fast. So here we are, Harry knows. Thank you all for your reviews, and hello to all the new readers, there are so many of you , I’m glad you are all enjoying.

Ja Ne.


	13. Memorial Demons

  
Author's notes: Harry realises that he didn't travel back alone.  


* * *

AN/ Here we go, another one for this story. 

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKRowling and always will.

 

Chapter 13: Memorial Demons

Harry wasn’t too sure how to react. His older soul had taken in the picture that had been presented to them and the Headmaster and had suddenly slammed up walls between their minds and the section that he had come to know as ‘other’ went blank. He knew from flashes that had come up in his nightmares that the carved lightning bold was something significant and not all together pleasant, as the other had always attempted to keep much of his more disturbing memories locked down. He also recognised the dead man as the Professor his older self had warned him about. The one that had been carrying the spirit form of Voldemort.   
The problem now, being, that the Headmaster had taken note of his reaction to the photo but as his other soul seemed to have gone into meltdown, he was left to handle the situation. 

Rubbing his hand across his forehead in an effort to stave off the headache that was building, Harry sighed and cast a look over at Remus, who was alternating his concerned gaze from Sirius, who was slowly coming around, and himself.

Coming to a decision, he hoped the other could pull them out if he bollixed everything up, he drew a deep breath, before turning back to the Headmaster, “Professor Dumbledore sir, I was wondering if I could make an appointment to discuss something with you once school sets in. I know that there are a lot of things that you have to take care of, not only in regards to Sirius’s case but in light of that,” he pointed at the photo that the nervous aid was still holding out, clearly not knowing what he was supposed to do. Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at him and Harry rubbed at his scar as he thought, ‘I hope I am doing the right thing. You did say we were not going to keep this from him.’ 

The other presence didn’t answer him so he drew himself up and locked eyes with the old wizard, “There are a few things that have come to light in the last few months that I think you should be made aware of. I believe that you have already realised that something odd has been going on and I think that it will be a good idea to discuss this matter as soon as possible.”

The Headmaster studied him for a moment, a thoughtful look in his bright blue eyes before he nodded once, “Very well, Mr Potter.” He answered softly, “The first day of school is on Friday so I think that I can fit you in Saturday morning seeing as classes won’t start until after the weekend. Is that sufficient?” at Harry’s nod he smiled, “Then I will see you Friday Mr Potter. Until then, I think it might be prudent to get your Godfather home. It looks as though he could use some rest. Good day to you.”

As the man swept from the room, Harry turned his attention back to the other two men, completely ignoring the aide who, after a moment of confusion, scuttled after the Headmaster. He could tell by the questioning look in Remus’s eyes that he could tell which of them was in control though he was unsure what had just happened. Harry gave a slight smile, “I’ll explain once we get home.” He offered and the werewolf nodded as they both turned to Sirius. The man was looking dazedly back and forth between the two of them.   
“Moony?” he whispered hoarsely, “Prongs?” he reached a hand up to Harry’s face then blinked as if trying to bring his eyes into focus, “No, that’s not right. James is gone. Harry?” 

The almost painful hope in his voice had Remus clutching at his hand and Harry smiling widely, “That’s right, Padfoot.” He answered softly, watching the man’s eyes widen at the nickname, “We are here to take you home.”

The two of them managed to haul the ragged man to his feet and with him leaning heavily on their arms, led him out of the courtroom.  
As they made their way back up to the upper levels, Harry turned him mind inwards, trying to get his older self to talk to him but to no avail. Giving up on the spirit for the moment he turned his concentration to getting them out of there in one piece. He knew from what the other had shown him that anything to do with him, and to Sirius in a lessor extent, tended to end up a media cercus. His other souls instincts in regards to reporters seemed to have passed on to him as well along with his jumpy nature, so he kept a sharp eye out as they stepped out into the Atrium. 

“Are we going straight to the manor?” Remus asked him and Harry gave a short nod. He had caught sight of a knot of people off to one side that he was rather suspicious of, suspicions that were confirmed when one of them shifted to the side revealing a familiar face out of the others memories, one that he had hoped to avoid.   
“Through the floo, Remus. Fast.” He muttered, steering them over to the large fireplaces just as Skeeter spotted them. Thankfully the fireplace was large enough for Remus to take the still staggering Sirius with him as he stepped into the green flames and as soon as they spun away, Harry took their place. He turned to face the room as he threw down the handful of powder at his feet. He smirked a the frustrated look on the horrible reporters face as he muttered the password and spun away just as the woman had reached out to snatch him from the fireplace.

He stumbled as he reached the other end, almost falling on his face as he stepped out into the welcoming atmosphere of his own floo room. He had been surprised when he had been shown this room but his older self had explained about the floo system and it had seemed perfectly reasonable to have a separate room for this particular fireplace. After all, he didn’t really like the idea that people could floo directly into his bedroom. 

Dusting the soot from his clothes he stepped over to where Remus was standing with Sirius draped over his shoulder and taking up the mans other arm gestured that they should take him to the study. As they were easing the man down into one of the stuffed armchairs under the concerned gaze of Harold’s portrait, Tupik appeared with a faint pop. Without even looking up, Harry directed him to bring them some light broth, tea and some sandwiches for Remus and himself. The businesslike elf gave a brief nod and vanished again and Harry settled himself in one of the other chair as Remus did the same. By now, Sirius had come around enough that he was staring up at the painting above the fireplace in surprise, finally he blinked then rasped out, “Harold? What in Merlins name are you doing here old man?” his voice was rough with disuse and weary beyond belief but the old humour was still there in a faint glimmer and Harry laughed along with Remus, hearing the relief in the werewolf’s voice.

“Paddy old friend, Harold’s painting hasn’t left that wall in over five decades at least.” Remus teased and Sirius turned his confused gaze to him then to Harry.

“It wasn’t a dream then?” he almost whispered, “I’m free? We are back at James’s place?”

Remus reached out to grab his hand and Harry smiled gently at him, “No Paddy, it wasn’t a dream.” Remus answered softly, “And it’s Harry’s place now.”

Sirius blinked at him for a moment then a look of great pain came over his face, turning to Harry a single tear traced down his face and his voice was barely a whisper as he asked, “How?”

Harry shook his head, the man was in no shape to follow the full story, he needed to recover a little first, just then Tupik popped into the room with a tray containing their lunch and with a bow popped out again and Harry pointed to the bowl of broth, “Eat something first Sirius.” He advised softly, “That story is going to take a while and you are going to need to be more alert for it. Once you finished eating I have some Healing potions for you to take and then I will explain to you what is going on. Or at least as much of it as I can.” He caught the pointed look that Remus shot at him and he nodded once in acknowledgment, knowing that he was going to have to explain what had happened in the court room as well.

The three of them ate in silence and once they were finished, Remus helped Sirius up to the room that had always been prepared for the man in order for him to bathe and change clothes, while they were gone, Harry spoke quietly to the painting of his ancestor, the man’s face growing graver as he revealed what was going on.

By the time the others re-entered the room, Sirius was looking much better. He was still gaunt and tired looking but his long hair had been washed and combed out and now lay down his back in a neat tail. He was also dressed in a set of blue robes that Harry had laid out for him in the hope that they would be bringing him home today. 

He waited until the two of them were seated then sighed before taking his own seat once again. Nodding once to Remus he turned his eyes to his godfather and smiled nervously, “What I am going to tell you is going to be hard to believe,” he started and snorted softly at the raised eyebrow aimed at him in reply, “Just listen please, then you can ask questions.” He admonished then without waiting for a reply he launched into the tale that his older self had already told Remus. He was able to explain much of it, but where the other had spoken in terms of “I did”, he spoke in terms of “I would have”, something he knew Remus would pick up on, confirming his suspicions on who was actually in residence in Harry’s head a the moment. 

At any other time Harry would have been amused at the expression on Sirius’s face. He looked downright shocked, the disbelief he had been showing at the start of the tale was slowly disappearing as Harry revealed more and more details of things that he could not possibly know of. By the time he finished the man was nearly catatonic and Remus had to hand him a cup of hot tea and help him to drink it before any sign of consciousness entered the mans eyes once more. 

Once he snapped out of his shock, Sirius shook his head sharply the focused his gaze back on Harry’s face “Holy shit.” He almost whispered.

Harry smiled at him then chuckled as Remus cuffed the man for his language, “I know.” He chucked, “That was pretty much my reaction when my older self dumped all this in my mind.”

Here Remus interrupted, “Speaking of, where is Harry Senior. I take it we are talking to the Junior version at the moment. You normally do not separate unless there is a very good reason, what has happened?”

Harry grimaced and sent an enquiring tap at the wall in his mind as he answered, “As to that, I think that we might have a problem.” He explained about the Photograph, who it was and what the knew about the man. He was about the explain about the sign cut into the body when his mind gave that familiar lurch and the projection of his older self appeared, looking even more haggard then normal.   
Remus didn’t respond other then to look even more concerned as he took in the older Harry’s appearance, Sirius on the other hand drew back in shock and swore loudly. The spirit smirked at him and Harry could feel the amusement from the other leaking through the barrier that he was still holding in his mind and he chuckled softly.

The spirit sent him a mental wink as he teased his godfather, the enjoyment in his face belied by the pain and grief that was plainly visible in his eyes, “Oh come on Sirius. You look like you have seen a ghost.” He said cheerfully, making Remus almost spit his tea all over the table.

Sirius blinked at him for a moment then let out a bark of laughter, “Holy shit is that ever a shock.” He exclaimed, “I had half convinced myself that Harry was mistaken and all that detail he gave he had gotten from Remus or something.”

The spirit shook his head and sighed “I’m afraid not. And as Harry said, we have a problem. That particular calling card is one that Lord Voldy started using after he had taken out Hogwarts.” Both Remus and Sirius gasped at those words and Harry felt the wave of pure grief from his other soul, almost making him cry. As it was he huddled down in his chair and his older self gave him a smile of apology, “I told you the general outline of what had happened but there is much that you have to understand. At the end of my sixth year, Headmaster Dumbledore was killed,” the gasp this time was louder and filled with shock and the spirit grimaced, “There is a longer story behind that as well,” he muttered, “But We’ll get to that another time, the thing is, the Headmasters death threw everything into chaos. The Order all but fell apart the ministry had already gone to hell after the cock up that Fudge made of things then Scrimgour making things worse by being more interesting in the reputation of the ministry then actually getting anything done.” The spirit tapped Harry mentally and he sent his permission sensing the other’s need to move. 

The projection shimmered out and Remus turned his attention directly to Harry, well used to this by now but he had to nudge Sirius who was still staring at the spot where the image had disappeared in confusion. Not saying anything Remus nodded to where Harry stood up from his seat and began to pace, noting the look of uneasy surprise on the others face at the change that he knew had come over his features once he took control. The younger Harry sent a wave of reassurance and he almost smiled, even through the surge of memories he would rather keep locked away if he could help it. 

“What you have to understand,” he continued softly, pacing back and forth before the fire, “By this stage there had been so many mistakes made that the public didn’t know what to believe anymore. The Order had kept hidden all that they were doing but had sent reports to the ministry which were immediately dismissed. The minister had denied Voldemorts return so often that when the news abruptly changed when he was replaced had everyone confused. Then there were the arrests of innocent people being accused of being in league with the Death Easters, no one knew who to trust.” Here he snorted in disgust, “Then the idiot put out a warrant for my arrest along with my two friends. We were on a mission for Dumbledore, something that the Headmaster left for me to do, vital to taking out Voldemort. The idiot of a minister knew that I was working under orders but he was so infuriated that I wouldn’t tell him what the Headmaster had been up to before he died that he decided to brand us all traitors.” He shook his head in frustration, not even noticing the reactions of the other two in the room now, the only presence that he even could even sense was that of his younger self hovering in the back of his mind, supporting him with his innocent understanding.

With a sigh of frustration he ran his hand through his already ruffled hair and stared into the fire, “After we managed to track down most of the objects that Dumbledore had us searching for, we returned to the school, figuring that at least one of the missing pieces had to be there considering the interest that the Dark Idiot had in the school. Problem is, he had found out what we had been after and had made his own move, attacking the school directly.” He shook his head again and turned his attention back to the room where he was, shaking off the flood of painful memories that came with digging up this story. The faces of both Remus and Sirius were strained and he took heart in their presence. “The school was overrun.” He continued softly, “McGonagall was unable to hold the wards against them. Many of the teachers were killed that night along with a good majority of the upper level students.” He gulped as he pushed back the memories of his friends, people he knew, had gone to school with, had argued with, so many of them, standing beside him to defend their school. So many of them falling when they failed. “The fall of Hogwarts changed everything.” He said softly, “There was no help from the ministry anymore as they had all lost hope at the loss. A few of us managed to band together with the last of the order and continued to fight, but we had missed something. No matter what we did I was unable to kill the monster. There was always one piece of the puzzle missing.” He frowned in frustration, “As a matter of fact I am going to have to speak to the Headmaster about that one, hopefully he has already started his investigations at this point and knows what I am talking about otherwise we are still going to be stuck in the same position as before. If I cannot figure out where the last piece is then there is no way to kill the bastard.”

He was snapped out of his musings by Sirius clearing his throat carefully, “Um, I don’t have much of an idea of what you are talking about,” he began, “But you were going to tell us what it was that had you so rattled. All of this will need to be discussed with the Headmaster from what you have said, but you did mention that it looked as though we had a problem.”

Harry grimaced in apology, “You’re right, sorry, I got caught up there. The thing is, once the fight got down to hit and run missions and trying to keep one step ahead of the Death Eaters, Voldemort thought up a little calling card to remind me of when I failed. He would carve a lightning bolt into the foreheads of those he killed. Not only did this serve to remind me of those I failed to protect but it through fire onto the rumours that I was as dark as he was as people associated that sign with me,” he pointed to his own scar, “I ended being blamed for those deaths, meaning not only was I dodging Death Eaters but Aurors as well.”

He fell silent and watched as the other two went over the implications of what he had told them. As they thought, he felt a gently nudge in his mind and turned his attention inwards, “If Voldemort came back the same as you did, then he is going to go after those Horcrux things isn’t he? I mean he knows that you found most of them so that means he has to hide them all again.”  
“I know, which is a worry. There are two that he cannot get his hands on easily, the locket and the Diadem. But as for the diary, cup, ring, Nagini and whatever else it is that we missed, they are out of our reach. At least for now anyway, Lucius Malfoy has the diary, the ring is too dangerous to go after is he did come back with me, as it is almost a guarantee that he is going to hole up in Riddle Manor again, and the old house is within the wards of the property. The cup we may be able to get, but it is going to take some doing and maybe the help of Sirius, we will have to see.”  
“That points towards your Voldemort being brought back with you,” Remus said finally and Harry nodded in agreement.  
“There are a few other clues as well,” he said gravely, “The fact that it was Quirill that turned up dead for starters as he knew that I was aware that he was his vessel for my first year. Also, I have been getting twinges in my scar and that only happened when I was close to him until he learnt of the connection and used it to bother me. At first I thought that the merge might have had something to do with me being able to sense him more easily, but now I am not so sure.”

Sirius leant forward in his chair, his face grave, “I Think that the first thing that we need to do is speak with the Headmaster.” He advised.

Harry nodded, “I know, I already set up a meeting with him for on the first day back to school. There is not much that I can do before then as I think that I am going to need some of his resources.” Here he grinned ruefully, “After all, is this timeline, all of my contacts have never met me yet.”

He gave a slight shift in his mind and merged once more with his younger self, having managed to put his demons to rest for the moment. With his merged personality he was unable to suppress a laugh at the bemused look on Sirius’s face as he noticed the change, “Never mind Padfoot, you’ll get used to it eventually. You just have to remember that there is essentially three of me. The young me, the old me and, well me which is a mix of both.” He explained lightly.

Sirius just shook his head and sighed, “Give me Dementors any day, “He said mournfully, “At least with them I could hold the madness off for a little while. You my boy, are going to send me nutters.”

Harry just laughed and suggested that he get some sleep. After all, they had a lot coming up and Sirius had only been released from prison that very day. He needed some time to recover. And Harry himself needed some time to prepare. He had a meeting with the headmaster in a couple of days and he needed to work out exactly what he was going to tell him. And what he needed to say to get the information out of him that he needed.

………………………..

Along the coast a dark figure wrapped in a ripped back cloak battled with the wind for the material as he dragged a smaller figure after him into the relative shelter of a cave in the cliff face. Once inside, he pushed the sacrifice to the ground then walked over to the damp back wall of the cave. Using a sharp knife he drew from his belt , he slashed his palm and drew the bloody hand across the stone, breaking the seals that held the door. As soon as he had all of the pieces back in his position he could make his plans on getting back his own form once again. At this moment however he as too vulnerable with the pieces scattered in places that were compromised. Once he had hold of the locket, he would go after the ring next. The wards around the property would need to be changed and strengthened, after all, the brat was well aware of where the Manor was.  
But first…. Turning his head slightly he pointed his wand at the prone form on the floor and the cloaked figure staggered to its feet, the movements jerky as one who moved under a power not their own. First he needed that locket.

………………………

Harry had managed to clamp down on his memories for the rest of the day but unfortunately once he went to sleep, they resurfaced in all their gory detail. He watched as people he knew were torn apart in front of his eyes, watched the smoke and flames roaring up through the great stone towers of the school. Watched again as the Headmaster fell from sight over the tower ledge.   
His mind shifted to another scene of him forcing ht Headmaster to drink the poison that hid the fake locket form their reach. Listened as the old man pleaded with him to stop. And just as he reached out to lift the chain from the basin, he was slammed by a wall of pure rage.   
“Where is it you insolent whelp?” Harry felt his body arch under the pressure of the pain the intrusion caused and he slapped up every mental shield he had, knowing that it wouldn’t stop the pain but at least the monster couldn’t do too much damage to him, “What’s the matter, Tom old boy. You loose something?” he taunted back, knowing that he was fairly safe at the moment as the other was too weak in his current form to do much damaged. Voldemort snarled and tried to rip through his shields and Harry shoved him back, “Get the hell out of my head.” He snarled, both mentally and physically.   
What he didn’t realise was that his screams had awakened both Remus and Sirius and both of them had come running. As soon as he threw Voldemort from his mind, Remus grabbed at his shoulder, thinking to shake him awake. It was a bad move on his part. On top of his nightmares, the visitation from Voldemort had thrown Harry into combat mode. His younger self was hidden down low in his mind to protect him and as soon as he felt hands on him he threw up his strongest shield and blasted the intruder across the room with a wave of pure magic. As the hands left his body he rolled out of bed and landed in a fighting crouch, his hands bewilderingly empty of the knife and wand that should have been beneath his pillow.   
He stared at his empty hands blankly for a moment until his mind finally caught up with him and he gasped in shock. Letting his shield drop he looked frantically around and found Remus crumpled on the floor against the wall, Sirius crouched beside him, his own wand drawn in defence.   
“Remus.” He exclaimed in shock and horror, before rushing over to the fallen Werewolf, “Oh please don’t let me have hurt him.” He pleaded with himself.

…………………………

AN/ Heheh, cliff hanger. Of a sort. And Voldy has found the fake locket.   
Just a note I am going to use some info from the last two books but it will be reworked a lot. Just how much of it remains to be seen, depending on where this goes.

See Ya


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